COP28 Sets Partnership to Promote Women's Climate Resilience

On Monday, the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) launched a partnership endorsed by 68 countries to mitigate the impacts of climate change on women's livelihood and facilitate their roles in low-carbon transition.

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The partnership, launched at a high-level dialogue during the COP28 held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, serves the UN gender-responsive strategies to reduce the loss of jobs and incomes among women brought by countries' green transition.

The partnership contains a package of commitments, including actions on gender-specific data, finance, and equal opportunities, that signatories will implement over the next three years before reconvening for a review at COP31.

"Climate change is not gender-neutral - it disproportionately impacts women and girls," UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 Razan Al Mubarak said at the dialogue.

The transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy will lead to both the elimination and transformation of some jobs, as well as the creation of new roles, the COP28 presidency said.

As many as 1.2 billion jobs, or 40 percent of the global labor force, are at risk due to global warming and environmental degradation, according to the International Labor Organization.

Women make up the majority of those working in sectors particularly susceptible to climate change, the COP28 presidency said, adding that up to 158 million more women and girls are predicted to suffer poverty globally due to climate change by mid-century, 16 million more than the total number of men and boys.

Noting that "the climate crisis amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses a serious threat to women's livelihoods, health and wellbeing," Mubarak called for reforming global financial architecture to invest in women's economic empowerment.

"The rights of women and girls must be at the center of climate action, including here at COP28," said Sima Bahous, director of UN Women, who also requested "a seat" for women "at the decision-making table" and their voice to be heard "clear and loud" at the global level.