Search Here

Climate change is everywhere. It affects livelihood, the state of living and environments on a larger scale. Experts believe that the role of women, as much as men do, play a key role in the spread of awareness of climate change.

Zandile Gumede, Durban, South Africa's first female mayor, said that climate change and women are inevitably woven together. The environment is changing fast and when disasters happen, there's a noticeable difference on how women and men react to the experience and the impact from, say, floods and droughts.

Women are most likely susceptible to the effects of climate change and with this, women should be a part of the parcel of everything that is happening around. With the role of women in homemaking, they experience firsthand the extreme bursts of weather, soil degradation and the scarcity of clean water to provide for the family, the New York Times noted.

With all the organizations and movements across the globe protecting and pushing for women's rights to be respected, it cannot be denied that women discrimination is still present most especially in developing countries, the United Nations Women said. Despite the struggle, many negotiation policies and laws try to consider the role of women in the battle against climate change.

Women now are slowly being seen as leaders as an agent for the change in climate as to what happened in Durban, South Africa, where they have first started electing a female mayor. Change in the perception of women is still murky in some countries but the U.N. Women believe that it has somehow improved from those of the past years.

Annually, the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change hold its conference and part of the agreement in COP22 is to promote gender equality obligations and movements when addressing climate change.

As a sign of the connection and the growing recognition of the links between the role of women and of climate change in the present times, the first C40 Women4 Climate was held last month, bringing together in one place female mayors from around the world. The organization, presided by Michael R. Bloomberg, represents roughly 90 cities focused on eradicating climate change.