United Nations Radio

Flood waters in Gonaives

Narrator: While it's been well-documented that temperatures are going up, glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising. The role of women in slowing climate change is not so well known. Empowered women can be agents of change, says this year's State of the World Population Report. Richard Kollodge, editor of the report, explains:

Kolodge: This year's state of world population report calls attention to women and ...and only people can stop it.

Narrator: Richard Kollodge says for many people, especially poor women in poor countries, climate change is here and now:

Kollodge: Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change mainly because they are more likely than men to live in poverty and therefore more likely to....and adapt to the changes that are still to come.

Narrator: Thoraya Obaid, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund, describes how climate change is affecting one group of women:

Obaid: "Each region faces its own challenges. In the Andes, for example, tropical glaciers are melting, and that means less water for agriculture and human consumption, and that means that young people are leaving rural areas for jobs in the city. Mainly it is the older women who are left behind. And these older women are having to work harder and harder to take out a living and to travel farther and farther to find enough water to drink. The Caribbean is no stranger to hurricanes, but the frequency and force of these storms have increased over the past few years. 2008 was a particularly devastating year for countries like Cuba and Haiti."

Narrator: Women bear the disproportionate burden of climate change, but have so far been largely overlooked in the debate about how to address climate change problems. Thoraya Obaid says this has to change:

Obaid: Policies or treaties that fail to take into account the realities of half the world's population will not succeed. If Governments are serious about stopping climate change, they should remove obstacles to women's participation in the climate-change debate.

Narrator: According to Daniel Schensul , climate change expert with UNFPA, we tend to focus on where the impact of climate change will be and what they will be but not on who will be impacted. The 2009 World Population report focuses more on people's vulnerabilities:

Daniel: This report shows that adapting to climate change shows that people have...and between those living in urban and rural areas.  Women are more likely to be sustainable consumers, so women's involvement in climate change is central to reducing emissions.

Narrator: Daniel Schensul , climate change expert with UNFPA.