Women are leading in the fight against climate change. By joining forces, we can amplify that impact
María Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business Coalition and Catherine McKenna, Founder and CEO,Climate and Nature Solutions and Women Leading on Climate
This article was first published in Reuters
Women have been a major force behind the most important milestones we have achieved on fighting climate change. When you look hard at climate progress, you can see the mark of women leaders. Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Laurence Tubiana, head of the European Climate Foundation, former Ireland president Mary Robinson, and Sue Biniaz, US Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, played pivotal roles in securing the Paris Agreement of 2015. Leaders like Marina Silva in Brazil, Jacinda Arden in New Zealand and Angela Merkel in Germany set new benchmarks of country leadership.
Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, and the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, negotiated the groundbreaking Bridgetown Initiative to help finance climate adaptation.
Earlier this year, women leaders advocated for the inclusion of women in the COP29 Organizational Committee. Women leaders consistently show a tendency to adopt long-term strategies and favour holistic positions in response to complex issues. The United Nation’s Loss and Damages Fund was spearheaded at COP27 by Marisa Rojas, Chile’s environment minister, and Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s special climate envoy.
In the private sector, research shows that companies with more women in senior leadership roles are more active on taking action against climate change. The same is true with climate transparency, with emission disclosure rates higher for those companies with a higher-than-average representation of women on management boards. It’s no coincidence that those countries with higher proportions of women in parliament are more likely to have stronger climate policies. Nor is it a surprise that many of the world’s highest-ranked sustainable cities are run by women.
Across the globe, women have modelled an inclusive and “get stuff done” leadership style that has been proven to make the difference.
The importance of female representation at the highest levels of the global climate movement cannot be understated. As the world faces record-breaking heatwaves, devastating wildfires and catastrophic floods the relentless burning of fossil fuels and the degradation of ecosystems continue to drive dangerous warming.
With new national climate commitments, called NDCs, being delivered by countries in the coming months, we are facing a high stakes moment where the right planning and decision-making will keep in sight climate stability and limiting global heating to within 1.5 degrees Celsius. Anything else will be catastrophic. As a recent U.N. document states: “This next round of national climate plans … will be amongst the most important policy documents produced this century”.
The climate space urgently needs more of the qualities that women leadership can bring. Around the world, 77% of people want their government to do whatever it takes to solve climate change, and women are at the forefront of demanding change. They’re 2.5 times more likely to ask their governments to be bolder, 60% more likely to use their voices for good, twice as likely to engage civically.
Enter the Women Leading On Climate network. Launching at this year’s New York Climate Week, the network comprises women in senior positions from across business, government and civil society. Collectively, it aims to leverage the expertise and influence of members to deliver an initial set of climate and nature asks to national governments. The global network and national groups will push for ambitious, immediate climate action – in negotiation rooms, boardrooms, in local communities and on the streets.
Women Leading On Climate aims to build a global network of women climate leaders to tip the balance in favour of accelerating progress. The initial focus will include delivery of 1.5C-aligned climate plans that can give certainty to business and people about the plans for decarbonising energy systems and key economic sectors. These will encompass national contributions to triple renewables, double energy efficiency and make progress on phasing out fossil fuels, as well as stopping deforestation and incentivising investments in nature.
The network is also calling for NDCs to seize the economic and social development opportunities that attract investment and mobilise finance, by including clear action plans, public budgets and fast-track policies that tackle barriers to green investment, including the removal of fossil fuel subsidies.
Raising awareness of the incredible work already being done by women leaders already will, in turn, lead to an accelerated ambition loop. The greater the visibility of female climate champions, the more that other women will follow in their footsteps and the greater the collective impact. With more impact comes more awareness and more open doors.
To be clear: there is room for everyone in today’s urgent struggle to rein in climate change and shift our economy onto a fairer, greener and more sustainable footing. Women Leading On Climate is about bringing together the best minds and most leading-edge practitioners to resolve a collective threat.
There is no time to waste. The coming months and years will determine whether we hand over a livable planet to our children. We can either succumb to the delay tactics of powerful special interests and suffer the consequences, or collectively roll up our sleeves and get on with the job. We have chosen to act.
To join the Women Leading On Climate network, visit https://www.womenleadingonclimate.org/