PARIS, France (Dec. 8, 2015) – This year, Gender Day at COP21 was dedicated to meaningful and engaging actions, events, and press conferences highlighting the perspectives and solutions being implemented by women from frontline communities, as well as the importance of gender-responsive climate policies.
Members of the Women & Gender Constituency including WEDO, WECAN, WECF, AIWC, and APWLD successfully coordinated and hosted several events inside COP21 and throughout Paris.
“The space at COP21 is very important for me, because usually women’s voices are not heard when we are on our own back home. This is the only opportunity for us to meet delegates from our governments. I would like to see women’s human rights take into account in all decisions for the outcomes from COP21. Women’s rights, the needs of women, need to be the center of the negotiations.” – Helen Hakena, Executive Director of Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency from Papua New Guinea.
ACTION – Stand for Gender Equality: Individual testimonies, multilingual signs with demands, and invitations for delegates to support gender equality were shared from women climate leaders.
EVENT – Women Gender Equality and Climate Change: Through discussions and presentations, gender perspectives on agriculture, disaster risk reduction and energy in India were showcased. Inaugural remarks were made by Honorable Union Minister of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Mr. Prakash Javdekar.
LAUNCH – Gender Just Climate Solutions: A new publication was launched highlighting more than 30 transformative solutions for climate action from women and men around the world.
PRESS CONFERENCE – Gender Day in the UNFCCC: A diverse panel of climate justice advocates presented on the importance of gender-responsive climate policies.
EVENT – Promoting Low-Carbon Development Pathways with a Gender Focus: Discussion: Representatives from AIWC, INFORSE and Climate Action Network discussed innovative development pathways with a gender focus.
EVENT – Policy & Action for a Just World: Several members from the Women and Gender Constituency spoke on the interlinkages between gender and climate change highlighting the necessary narrative for systems change and stories from women’s rights activists.
FILM – Women & Climate Change: In partnership with the Women’s Global Call for Climate Justice, a series of short films about climate justice and gender were screened.
FILM – Effects of Mining on Indigenous People in the Philippines: Tess Vistro from APWLD and PDIARS shared an informative film on the effects of mining on indigenous people and women in the Philippines.
