UK government committing £165m to boost gender equality and climate action
Around £165 million is going towards boosting equality for women and climate action as COP26 talks focus on gender, the government has said.
Women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, as they form a majority of the world’s poor, often dependent on small-scale farming for their livelihoods and can comprise 80% of those displaced by climate-related disasters.
But addressing inequalities faced by women and girls can help to tackle climate change, officials said.
Ministers said the £165 million included £45 million to help groups in Asia and the Pacific challenge gender inequalities and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
And £120 million would be used to build resilience to climate change, prevent pollution, protect wildlife, boost renewable energy and manage waste, as well as support women’s leadership, access to finance, education and skills in Bangladesh.
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “It is women, girls and those who are already most marginalised, that will be most severely impacted by climate change.
The COP27 climate conference - what you need to know
What is COP27? When and where will it be?
What is COP27? When and where will it be?
Each year, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meets at what is called the Conference of the Parties (abbreviated as COP) to discuss the world's progress on climate change and how to tackle it.
COP27 is the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties summit which will be held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18.
Who is going?
Who is going?
Leaders of the 197 countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty that came into force in 1994 - are invited to the summit.
These are some of the world leaders that will be attending COP27:
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is attending the conference, after initially saying he wouldn't as he was too busy focusing on the economy within his first weeks in office.
US President Joe Biden and his experienced climate envoy, John Kerry, will appear at the talks.
France President Emmanuel Macron will also be among the heads of state from around the world staying in Egypt.
King Charles III will not be attending COP27, despite being a staunch advocate for the environment. The decision was made jointly by Buckingham Palace and former prime minister Liz Truss.
Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will not attend the talks just as they decided to do for COP26.
What is it hoping to achieve?
What is it hoping to achieve?
1. Ensure full implementation of the Paris Agreement and putting negotiations into concrete actions - included within this is the target of limiting global warming to well below 2C.
2. Cementing progress on the critical workstreams of mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage, while stepping up finance notably to tackle the impacts of climate change.
3. Enhancing the delivery of the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the UN Climate Change process.
“But they also have a critical role to play to address the climate crisis.
“The UK is committed to addressing this dual challenge head on, committing new funding to empower communities and women’s groups to take locally-led adaptation action, to build local, national and global resilience”.
At an event at the COP26 talks, featuring Little Amal a 3.5-metre puppet travelling 8,000km in support of refugees, ministers and others will discuss new action to tackle gender issues around climate change, while countries are expected to announce new gender and climate commitments.