Empowerment of women vital to climate action - expert

The empowerment of women is essential in tackling climate change, according to Irish climate change expert Prof John Sweeney.

Prof Sweeney, in Paris for COP21, said a majority of the world's farmers were women, who currently account for up to 80 percent of food production in developing countries.

Women farmers also account for more than 90 per cent of the female labour force in many African countries, with some 40 billion hours per year spent by African women merely collecting water.

This week the COP21 conference featured a symposium to recognise Gender Day, and a number of events were held to emphasise the importance of a gender statement appearing in the final agreement.

Mary Robinson

The Gender Day symposium was attended by Mary Robinson, appearing on a panel hosted by France’s Ségolène Royal.

Dr Robinson encouraged young women to challenge the status quo, where the reins of power were largely held by men.

Also speaking at the conference was former US vice-president Al Gore, who received a standing ovation after an hour-long illustrated talk on climate change including the floods associated with Storm Desmond.

Storm Desmond produced a new record UK daily rainfall total, in Cumbria, of over 340mm. This, for instance, compares to a rainfall figure for Glasnevin in 1887 which recorded 356mm in the whole year.

Extreme events

Prof Sweeney said changes in the frequency of extreme events - “often with catastrophic human consequences in countries not significantly complicit in causing global warming” - were being experienced widely across the world as the climate alters.

“Climate justice is the driving force for an agreement, now that the science of climate change is largely settled,” said Prof Sweeney.