The role of women in climate change

        In recent years, in the context of international initiatives and people's increasing feelings about climate change, "sustainability" has gradually become a topic of global concern. ESG, SDGs, GRI, R20, etc. have become more popular online search keywords. This issue of "Sustainability Zone" will introduce you to an organization that inspires women to take action for the earth - "R20 Green Women's Foundation".

        At the academic summit held at Far Eastern Group Shangri-La International Hotel in Taipei on October 11, 2022, Yuan Ze University invited Ms. Mich è le Sabban, the honorary chairman of the R20 and chairman of the R20 Green Women's Foundation, to come to the scene and communicate with the audience. The R20 (R20 Regional Organization for Climate Action), which came to Taiwan for the first time, is a non-profit organization established by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California of the United States, in cooperation with several major countries and with the support of the United Nations. Later, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ms. Mich é le Sabban established the R20 Green Women's Foundation.

                Ms. Mich è le Sabban, considering that women are the most affected group by climate change, established the R20 Green Women's Foundation, hoping to provide women with a channel for leading initiatives to achieve responsible development and solidarity.

        Women are one of the victims of global warming. They are more affected by climate change than men. The reasons include the impact on agriculture, the frequency and severity of natural disasters, the social structure of discrimination, and additional responsibilities. However, women are also important representatives of adaptation and mitigation of climate change, and they are more active in finding practical solutions for the community.

        R20 Green Women's Foundation is currently focusing on the following five main actions:

        1. Customized training

        Through special workshops, remove barriers related to gender inequality and create and develop green jobs.

        In a report in 2011, the Food Organization indicated that if women can access technology, education, markets, financial services and land like men, the resulting increase in agricultural production may help reduce hunger by 17% and increase agricultural production in developing countries by 2.5% to 4%. Take women in developing countries as an example. Even though they could have brought effective solutions to the country, they often face the lack of technology, capital and technical resources to build their own enterprises due to their limited access to agricultural wealth, land ownership, education, technology and power.

        The foundation also saw this deficiency, so it cooperated with professional partners in different regions of the world and regularly held training courses for women and green enterprises.

        2. Provide financing, project and feasibility study

        Provide funds and feasibility studies for green projects with women as the core or led by women.

        Women do not have easy access to climate finance. In some countries, their access to information and resources is also very limited. In view of this, the Foundation will first deploy infrastructure (virtual or physical) and networks (finance, insurance, information, health, education) for women, and then fund green projects and feasibility studies proposed by women entrepreneurs.

        3. Access to energy and communication tools

        Enable women to access technologies and innovations, such as clean energy, Wi-Fi, data services, health and communications.

        "Energy" plays a vital role in the economic and social development of a country. However, 1.4 billion people could not use it in 2016 (source: Schiller Institute). Since "Internet users" in developing countries account for only about 5% of global users (source: Cahiers du Num é riques), the opportunities to access communications are very limited. So this group of women once again became the core of inequality. The Foundation tries to provide energy coverage for isolated communities and increase the access to internet and data services.

        4. Participation in international and regional forums

        Support women workers to better control social, economic, political and ecological conditions and enjoy privileges in the forum.

        Over the years, despite the increase in gender commitments in international climate agreements, women are still underrepresented in public policy forums devoted to climate change. Therefore, in order to ensure their effective participation in these climate decision-making processes, we should especially expand the organization of regional and international forums, highlight women's contributions to climate change action, and enable women to emphasize their views in decision-making bodies.

        5. Global Women Entrepreneurs Forum (GWEF)

        There are many successful cases in the establishment of a global network of women active in the green economy: Marina Silva was illiterate until the age of 16. After she was appointed Minister of the Environment of Brazil from 2003 to 2008, she formulated a national plan to combat deforestation, including taking strict measures against any illegal destruction of forests; Manika Begum, a Bangladeshi farmer, invented a practical and ingenious method for seed selection and preservation, and shared it with other women in the community; In 2004, Wangari Maathai became the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize for launching the "Green Belt Movement" of eco-activism in Kenya. The Foundation hopes to promote more women's communication on green action through the GWEF platform.

        In fact, there are also many leaders who are committed to environmental protection among the young generation of women. For example, the new Swedish climate minister, Romina Pourmokhtari, is the youngest minister ever, bringing new vitality to environmental affairs; Another young man from Sweden, Greta Thunberg, a climate girl, awakened global attention to climate issues through the strike.

        In recent years, the R20 Green Women's Foundation has a strong interest in developing countries and has actively cooperated with R20 partners and local governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Climate change is a global problem, not only affecting people's lives, but also business activities. In that year, Ms. Mich è le Sabban persuaded Arnold, who was refusing to make a film, with the argument that "to solve the difficult problem of climate change, countries should break boundaries and unite and cooperate regardless of wealth", which led to the later R20 organization and the Green Women's Foundation. The organization also played a behind-the-scenes role in the climate conference in 2015, and led 195 participating countries to sign the Paris Agreement, promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and control temperature rise within 1.5 ° C.

        When we begin to review the 17 initiatives of the United Nations SDGs, among the five development projects of the R20 Green Women's Foundation, the action mode that women can take for the earth may also become the reference direction for enterprises to carry out green transformation and sustainable operation.

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