- AFRIWOCC stresses the need to step up efforts to combat climate change and mitigate its impacts, particularly on women and children.
- The International Renewable Energy Agency puts women at a paltry 32 per cent of the workforce in renewable energy sectors.
The Chair and Convener of the Africa Women and Children Conference (AFRIWOCC), Mrs Samira Bawumia, has called for a clear focus on women’s participation in the fight against climate change. She made this call during the pre-COP28 Climate Forum at Harvard University, USA. She stressed the need to step up efforts to combat climate change and mitigate its impacts, particularly on women and children.
The maiden edition of AFRIWOCC, convened this year under the theme “Amplifying the Voices of Women and Children in Climate Action”, served as a nuanced engagement platform for climate issues and their impacts. The conversation elicits responses from some leading actors in climate, environment, natural resources, agriculture, and energy. Mrs Bawumia, who doubles as a Global Ambassador for the United Nations Foundation, highlighted the underrepresentation of women in the energy sectors.
Bawumia asserted that the International Renewable Energy Agency puts women at a paltry 32 per cent of the workforce in renewable energy sectors. Addressing the forum, she stated that the United Nations estimates that 80 per cent of people displaced by climate change threats, such as severe drought, extreme heat and sea level rise, are women. This, therefore, makes them disproportionately affected. Furthermore, she calls on financial institutions to focus on financing women, especially in the green sector. She believes this will contribute to gender-responsive and children-sensitive solutions to climate change.