On December 7, representatives from 192 nations gather in Copenhagen for the first day of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. As these representatives discuss a global response to the climate crisis, we consider the role of women and gender in climate change agreements.

IPS News recently interviewed Lorena Aguilar Revelo, global senior gender advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is part of the Global Gender and Climate Alliance, launched at the United Nations in 2007. Revelo says that while women have had a significant role “in the management of natural resources for centuries,” especially within the agricultural center, considerations of women and gender are currently absent from the major UN climate change agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Despite “innumerable global mandates calling for integrating a gender perspective into environmental and poverty reduction efforts,” a concerted effort to include women and gender issues continues to evade climate talks and agreements on the national and international fronts, says Revelo.

In an effort to ensure that women are not left out of future agreements, the Global Gender and Climate Alliance has been working closely with delegates of the Copenhagen conference, updating and training representatives on impact that climate change has on women. Following the advocacy efforts of her organization and others, Revelo is confident that gender will be noted in any declaration that comes out of Copenhagen.

Q&A Gender Missing in Climate Agreements - IPS News