Emma Watson, Ellie Goulding join women's movement seeking representation in climate talks

At least 400 prominent women, including Hollywood’s female stars, have called on the UK government to involve more females in the role of "decision-making" at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2021.

The top women entrepreneurs, MPs, and celebrities dispatched a letter to the UK PM Boris Johnson, with signatures including from the acclaimed actor Emma Watson, and singer Ellie Goulding, questioning the lack of women members in the male-dominated COP26 leadership team. The major climate conference is scheduled to be held in November 2021 in Glasgow, UK, and women currently have less than 25 percent representation. 

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Organised by 'She Changes Climate', the all-women campaign has urged the COP26 leadership to promote gender equality and fair participation which should include women in the conference’s key climatic decisions. The letter cites research conducted by the agency Gender Action Plan, which the British Government signed at the UN climate conference last year, stating that climate change affected women globally most disproportionately and that role of women in climate change policies was vital.

Reminding the UK’s government of ‘diversity’, the campaign in a statement said, "Women often have to face the worst impacts of climate change first because of the roles they often play in society. This means that they often have less capacity to adapt to changes in climate and plan ahead to reduce its impact on them and their families." It further added, that women are "often not included in the rooms where decisions are made, meaning the pressures they feel go unheard. COP26 runs the risk of doing just that."

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50:50 balance

In an official statement on its website, the campaigners said that it was their imperative to make women’s voices, interests and perspectives heard at the leadership level of COP26. "Through our new campaign #SHEChangesClimate, we are publicly calling on Alok Sharma, President of COP26, who is leading the team hosting COP26 to address the gender divisions in climate by forming a representative and inclusive leadership team," the signatories urged. The campaign demanded a 50:50 balance of women at all future COPs conferences. "50 percent of direct reports to the CEO and President should be women: Directors, Lead Negotiators, Champions, Ambassadors," it asserted. 

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