Can Improving Women's Representation in Environmental Governance Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Feb 11, 2019 | Charlotte Collins
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The Paris Agreement’s clause to include more women in the environmental decision-making process set a historical precedent. The preamble urges parties to acknowledge that climate change is a common concern of humankind and to act accordingly. Decision-making, it insists, must account for the human rights of vulnerable populations, “as well as gender equality [and the] empowerment of women.”

The intersection of gender and climate change is a location of acute vulnerability, one which is recently gaining more attention. It is well-documented that women, generally underrepresented in government and industry, often bear the brunt of climate change effects. As caregivers and providers, women are in the front lines of environmental disaster, and represent 80% of persons displaced by climate change.