On Monday, 24th September 2012, on the side-lines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New York, twenty international leaders agreed an action plan to secure a new agreement on women’s participation at COP18 to take place this November. This com
On Monday, 24th September 2012, on the side-lines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New York, twenty international leaders agreed an action plan to secure a new agreement on women’s participation at COP18 to take place this November. This commitment was made at a meeting of high level leaders, known as the Troika+ of Women Leaders on Gender and Climate Change.
The meeting was convened by Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice and hosted by Ambassador Anne Anderson, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations.
Participants included Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Ms Delphine Batho, Minister of Environment, France and Ms Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh. The meeting participants discussed ways of improving women’s representation on bodies established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Women’s representation on some UNFCCC bodies is as low as 10%, yet women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Greater representation of women on UNFCCC bodies will make the decisions taken and resulting actions at national and international level more gender responsive and therefore more effective.
The commitment to the plan of action was warmly welcomed by Mary Robinson, who said “the European Union delegations to the UNFCCC have committed to preparing a draft decision to table at COP18 in November and it is heartening to see that these women leaders are pledging their ambition to strive for gender parity with 50/50 representation”.
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