Gender at the centre of most Cop27 adaptation plans

Eighty per cent of national adaptation plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) this year refer to gender-sensitive approaches, the UN Women executive director has said.

Sima Bahous spoke last Tuesday during a side-event at the climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

“Many of them put through the importance of women’s leadership and representation,” she said in reference to the plans.

There are 198 parties to UNFCCC and they submit a plan on efforts they will make to promote mitigation to impacts of climate change in their respective countries. The plans also indicate how they will help their communities to adapt.

She was hopeful that women would get more space in the climate talks in their respective countries as the plans underscored the importance of women’s leadership and representation.

Just like in last year's Glasgow conference in Scotland, the women climate activists in Egypt nudged for space at the negotiating table. 

“We saw that picture that went viral. [It proved] the fact that there is [little] representation of women (in the climate talks),” she said.

“We counted…there were only seven women out of the 110 world leaders.”

Norway's Minister of Climate  and Environment Barth Eide said if green transition is to work, women must be at the centre of discussions.

“Much of the transition has been about men's work-from coal workers or oil workers, [whereas] we know that broadening the gender perspective on green transition will transform our society,” he said.

Carbon footprint

Research findings published in Journal for Industrial Ecology  in July 2021 indicate that men have a higher carbon footprint than women owing to their expenditure preferences that are denser on greenhouse gases.

The study compared greenhouse gas emissions for a single man and woman in Sweden based on consumption of food and use of holiday and furnishing services.  Men were found to emit 10 tons of greenhouse gases per capita per year compared to 8.5 tonnes for women.

“The difference in men’s and women’s emissions is not due to differences in expenditure, but rather to differences in expenditure patterns,” the researchers say.

Men spend two per cent more than women but emit 16 per cent more of the global warming gases. This is attributed to the women spending on low-emitting products and services such as health care, furnishings and clothes.

Men rather spend 70 per cent more on greenhouse gas intensive items such as fuel.

To lower the emissions, the researchers recommend swapping meat and dairy products with plant-based alternatives and locally produced vegetables.

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