WHEN COP27, the UN’s ongoing climate change conference, kicked off, a picture of the world’s leaders attending was widely circulated — but not to the intended effect. Meant to showcase global unity in tackling the climate crisis, it instead highlighted the lack of women getting a voice at the climate talks.

Inclusion is central to the success of COP27. Climate change affects everyone, but differently. Women and marginalised comm­u­­nities are particularly adversely affe­cted during climate calamities. Following our own floods, pregnant women struggled and relief efforts paid scant attention to women’s reproductive or hygiene needs. Women account for 80 per cent of those displaced by climate change-related events, so how can climate talks succeed without their participation?

The UN has in recent years prioritised gender equality in climate action. As Catherine McKenna points out in a recent Scientific American article, women comprise an increasing percentage of delegates to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s constituted bodies (technical and decision-making committees for climate deliberations) and gender is increasingly acknowledged in national climate action plans. But less than 30pc of lead negotiators are women, and at last year’s Glasgow COP, men took up 74pc of the speaking time. This balance must improve (thankfully, Pakistan’s delegation under Sherry Rehman this year is primarily comprised of women).

Other forms of exclusion are at play too. Over the weekend, climate-related protests erupted around the world, highlighting the prevalence of voices feeling left out. This is the first COP to focus on the climate impact of agriculture and industrialised food production, but discussions on these themes were dominated by large agri-businesses. Smallholder farmers, who produce 70pc of the world’s food (and are mostly women), have been left out of the discussions, even though their sustainable techniques must be part of any climate solution to reduce greenhouse gases from food production.

Inclusion is central to the success of COP27.

The story of youth inclusion is more positive. COP27 has given greater prominence to youth perspectives — a no-brainer given that young people and future generations are the true victims of the climate crisis (a child born today will experience four times as many extreme weather events as we do). A dedicated pavilion and Youth and Future Generation Day focused on youth demands for more climate empowerment, adaptation and accessible finance. But this is not to discount the numerous voices who fear ‘youth-washing’ without meaningful intent to incorporate youth demands into policies and commitments.

Though COP27 strives for improved inclusion, the drivers of climate exclusion run much deeper. Writing in Carbon Brief, Ayesha Tandon points to the lack of diversity in climate science, which of course skews understandings of climate change events and impacts, particularly in the most affected parts of the Global South. Carbon Brief’s analysis of climate-related academic publications finds that publications are skewed towards the interests of male authors from the Global North, leaving “blind spots around the needs of some of the most vulnerable people to climate change, particularly women and communities in the Global South”.

The barriers to climate science in the Global South are significant — inadequate funding, lack of infrastructure, poor access to data and scarce technical expertise. Climate science focused on Asia or Africa is typically biased towards the academic preoccupations and priorities of the Global North rather than indigenous approaches. In other words, the building blocks of climate information are themselves problematic.

Those meaningfully committed to addressing climate change are increasingly attuned to diversity and inclusion, and the general trajectory (spurred further by loss and damage deba­tes) is positive, though gradual. This is essential because it is strongly evidenced that diverse perspectives lead to better decision-making and outcomes. For example, as McKenna argues, women leaders typically promote ties to local communities and civic groups, and their greater inclusion in climate negotiations would lead to more resilient climate policies.

Climate activists are also thinking holistically about how to widen engagement with the climate crisis, in ways that will necessarily prompt inclusion. For example, following a seven-day sit-in by climate activists, the University of Barcelona announced a mandatory course on the climate crisis, required of all graduate and postgraduate students. What better way to ensure that climate perspectives will be integrated across all disciplines, professions and sectors going forward? This emphasis on inclusion should not be limited to the realm of climate action. From corporate boardrooms to populist politics, we should heed lessons from climate discourse that knows diversity is necessary for success.

The writer is a political and integrity risk analyst.

Twitter: @humayusuf

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2022