COP26 Blog 11: Climate solutions 'need to be based around women'

Sr Mary Jo McElroy RSHM, Claudelice Silva dos Santos, and Maria Elena Arana

What an honour to meet CAFOD partner Claudelice Silva dos Santos, walking alongside Maria Elena Arana of CAFOD at Saturday's Climate March in Glasgow. I was introduced to this smiling woman, waving to the young people hanging out of windows along the route, and had no idea then of the sacrifices she has made to protect the Earth and the poor. A land defender from Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon, Claudelice has experienced intimidation and violence first-hand. Her brother and sister-in-law were murdered 10 years ago for their resistance to illegal logging. She describes going through days when, "I couldn't even get out of bed for fear of being shot because of the death threats I was getting." And yet she can say, "I overcame all this because we believe change is possible."

Sadly, so many environmental champions only become widely known because they have been murdered. Sr Dorothy Stang and Berta Cáceres are two women who spring to mind. Both their lives and deaths were a witness to what Pope Francis calls "the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor." Their martyrdom embodies the intimate connection between creation justice and social justice for the poor that is at the heart of Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.

The day's theme today for COP26 was Gender. Well, half the day! The UN reported that women and girls, particularly those facing intersecting inequalities, are disproportionately impacted by climate change, but they are also critical leaders at all levels of climate action, from local communities to global forums. Prominent young women activists, such as Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate, have made headlines this week, but advocacy is just one area where women have been active.

On the 'Greenfaith' webinar from Glasgow today some interesting statistics were highlighted. Women produce more than 50% of the world's food but have few rights over the land they tend. They have vast indigenous knowledge of local plant species and links with weather patterns, helping them provide a wide variety of nutritious food for their families, but this knowledge is often overlooked by those outside their communities. Women and the girl child are traditionally responsible for water portage and securing fuelwood, which are both impaired by climate change.

Nearly 200 participants doubted whether COP26 could address the climate crisis successfully because "solutions need to be based around women", according to a speaker from Indonesia. She felt COP26 is ""too white, too male, too elite" and that "plans have locked out faith communities." Women joining in felt it is simply common sense to protect and nurture the fruitful resources we still have, such as forests, and to put resources into clean renewable energy.

I also attended a COP26 Coalition People's Summit event titled, 'Feminist Pathways towards a Just and Equitable Transition'. Participants entered the online gathering from Zimbabwe, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Estonia, Netherlands, France, Italy, and the US. And they had one thing in common. They were nearly all women. I wondered why so many men have an allergy to the word 'Feminist'. There was a call for equality to be built into transition plans and for huge military budgets to be diverted to paying for a sustainable future. Wanun Permpibul, Director of Climate Watch Thailand, called for "power to move from the hands of the corporates to the hands of those on the ground, especially women."

In case you were wondering about the second half of today's COP26 programme. It was 'Science and Innovation,' which was billed as "demonstrating that science and innovation can deliver climate solutions." So today the UK Government announced it will give £210m backing for mini nuclear reactors "to hit net zero more quickly". Climate change was given as the big excuse to back the nuclear industry, even though it has yet to overcome its inherent problems of cost, construction delay, nuclear waste, decommissioning, security, let alone the small but still highly material risk of catastrophic accidents. I am amongst the women feeling dismay at this move. I wonder how many women were consulted!

By the way, do catch up with last Sunday's 'Songs of Praise' on Creation and meet some of the young pilgrims with the Young Christians Relay to COP. Theologian Hannah Malcolm and organiser Rachel Mander were interviewed. "God has been with us every step of the way" said Rachel.

LINKS

Green Faith - https://greenfaith.org/about/#gf_mission

People's Summit - https://cop26coalition.org/peoples-summit/