Reflections from COP27: We Need More Women in Leadership Positions

We’re six days into #COP27egypt. Many world leaders have been and gone, opening statements and formalities have taken place and now the real work begins – the negotiations. As a United Nations agency, WFP has access to these closed-door meetings as observers, and it’s been really exciting to sit in and listen to discussions that will form part of final agreements and have the potential to create real change. Here’s what WFP Climate Change Account Manager Jenny Wilson has learnt after another few days at COP27:

We need more women in positions of leadership. Around 110 heads of state and government attended the World Leaders Summit at COP27, yet only seven of those were women. As a young woman, it is incredibly disheartening to see this lack of representation in the leaders who hold the future of the planet in their hands. Gender equality is important in all forms of leadership but particularly in relation to climate change as women are disproportionately affected by climate impacts. How can we expect to tackle the climate crisis without proper representation and inclusion of women in positions of power? 

More funding must be directed to adaptation. When we talk about tackling climate change the first thing that often comes to mind is climate change mitigation - reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is incredibly important as we are dangerously close to moving past the 1.5C degree temperature rise agreed as safe by 192 countries. But unfortunately, emissions are going up rather than down. And while we’re debating this, communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis are being hit by more frequent and intense climate disasters and need urgent support to adapt.

Currently, the majority of climate finance is directed towards climate mitigation. Yet, adaptation needs in the developing world are going to rise to up to US$340 billion a year by 2030 (UNEP). If there’s any hope of providing enough funding to support these countries to adapt, developed countries need to drastically ramp up their ambitions and ensure that at least half of funding is directed to adaptation efforts. I wasn’t surprised to find out that funding is the most common topic covered in top tier media outlets in relation to COP27 – it certainly is here on the ground in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Climate justice is at the centre of this fight. The climate crisis is an issue of injustice. Communities who contributed the least to the problem are facing the worst impacts and aren’t receiving sufficient support to allow them to adapt. Africa for example, where COP27 is being held, has contributed only 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions yet is being devastated by extreme weather events. The good news is that people are not simply accepting this as a part of an unfair world. Here at COP27 I’ve met people from all corners of the globe who are standing up for what is right and demanding climate justice. Many of them have reminded me that although UN Climate Conferences are important, we must not forget that the reality of climate change is not in a conference centre.

More on that to come next! Stay tuned to read more of her reflections from #COP27