OP-ED: Can COP26 Become a Turning Point for Gender Responsive Climate Action?

A group of young women migrant workers make their way to work at a factory in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, on November 28, 2017. Photo: UN Women/Staton Winter

In a recent United Nations poll of young people in South Asia, 78 per cent said that climate change has impacted their studies. More girls reported that climate change affected their daily journey to school. For some, it is an existential threat. Zeeko, 19, put it simply when she told us that she sees its adverse effects every day in Maldives because her country is slowly sinking. Maldives is expected to disappear before the end of the century.

The upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) presents an opportunity for world leaders to put women and girls at the center of global efforts to adapt and build resilience to climate change. Based on the U.N. poll, 62 per cent of young people said they believe that governments should prioritize climate action the most.

The climate and resource crises, as well as global inequality, have not disappeared during COVID-19. If anything, the pandemic has underscored the critical need to address gender inequality if we want to successfully combat the global pandemic and the climate crisis. It has also demonstrated the leadership roles that women and girls are playing in health and disaster response, especially at the local level.

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