By: Ireen Twongirwe
Worth Noting:
- As countries look to transition their economies away from fossil fuel extraction and other harmful environmental practices, it will be essential to ensure that the benefits of these changes are fairly distributed, ensuring gender-responsive transitions that prioritize the rights of women.
- More so. Keeping 1.5 alive through mitigation and a just equitable transition according to Paris agreement while addressing climate change impacts, it requires a radical structural shift to build a low-carbon and climate-resilient world. This shift must incorporate a just transition for present and future workforces, guaranteeing decent work and training opportunities for marginalized communities especially women and girls.
In the three decades since the Rio Summit and the launch of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) has convened member countries every year to determine ambition and responsibilities, and identify and assess climate measures. The 21st session of the COP (COP21) led to the Paris Agreement, which mobilized global collective action to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, and to act to adapt to the already existing effects of climate change.
This year, COP28 will convene in the UAE in November 2023. COP28 UAE brings the world together at a critical moment for global transformative climate action.
Editor, its important to note that COP27 which happened last year in Sharm el-Sheikh closed with a breakthrough agreement to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate disasters. This was the achievement made during last year’s Conference of parties (COP). This was widely lauded as an historic decision. Why? Because for the first time, countries recognized the need for finance to respond to loss and damage associated with the catastrophic effects of climate change, and agreed to the establishing of a fund and the necessary funding arrangements. However, who should pay into the fund, where this money will come from and which countries will benefit were not finalized during the conference.
More so, they didn’t discuss on whether the fund will focus on Economic Loss and Damage or None Economic Loss and Damage (ELD and NELD). It’s clear that ELD is totally different from NELD because they can be quantified and yet NELD are hard to Quantify.
To you attention, Loss and damage refers to the negative consequences that arise from the unavoidable risks of climate change, like rising sea levels, prolonged heat waves, desertification, the acidification of the sea and extreme events, such as bushfires, species extinction and crop failures. As the climate crisis unfolds, these events will happen more and more frequently, and the consequences will become more severe.
Historically, climate change scientists, researchers and policymakers have struggled with how to make the vital connections between gender, social equity, and climate change. As more and more data and research reveal their clear correlation, during COP28, they should talk about the disparate impacts of climate change and the linkages between women’s empowerment and effective, global climate action.
The climate crisis is not “gender neutral”. Women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.
Across the world, women depend more on, yet have less access to, natural resources. In many regions, women bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and fuel.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
There is need to integrate gender equality perspectives into the design, funding, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs on climate change mitigation, adaptation, loss, and damage.
As countries look to transition their economies away from fossil fuel extraction and other harmful environmental practices, it will be essential to ensure that the benefits of these changes are fairly distributed, ensuring gender-responsive transitions that prioritize the rights of women.
More so. Keeping 1.5 alive through mitigation and a just equitable transition according to Paris agreement while addressing climate change impacts, it requires a radical structural shift to build a low-carbon and climate-resilient world. This shift must incorporate a just transition for present and future workforces, guaranteeing decent work and training opportunities for marginalized communities especially women and girls.
The Loss and Damage decision-making process belongs to everyone .The Loss and Damage decision-making process should be inclusive and consider the needs and priorities of children, youth, and women, particularly those located in the marginalized and frontline communities within the UNFCCC process and beyond. We demand that: Active participation of women and girls in climate change decisions on the national and international levels are active stakeholders in taking concrete action to address the climate crisis.
More so, Just Transition’ must be defined in a way that recognizes the views of vulnerable countries, and considers good practices to address loss and damage. Finance for just transition and related means of implementation (e.g. capacity building, technology, etc…) must be made available, especially for the most vulnerable countries to ensure that none is left behind.
Loss and Damage Fund should acknowledge and address displacement incurred by vulnerable people. Its decisions on structure, governance, terms of reference and disbursement should mobilize funding to avert and address forced displacement due to climate change. Funding should be rooted in equity and justice and be rapidly accessible to African communities. Decision makers at every level should be well informed about the evidence and many nuances of climate-linked mobility in Africa. They must ensure disbursement modalities grounded in climate justice that allow simple, rapid access.
In a nutshell, Loss and damage funding is a major development for African communities. COP28 is a pivotal moment to determine how, when, where and how much the Loss and Damage Fund can provide relief for the most vulnerable people .And it should be urgent.
#There is no Climate Justice without Human Rights
#There is Climate Justice without Gender Justice
#Climate Finance Now
For God and my Country
Ireen Twongirwe
Executive Director Women for Green Economy Movement Uganda (WoGEMUganda)
Elizabeth Angira 
Mt Kenya Times