Statement by the Women and Gender Constituency for the AWG - KP Closing Plenary, Copenhagen 15th December 2009

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Mr Chairman, my name is Jo Tenner, I come from Australia which is among the world’s highest per capita emitter of greenhouse gas. I speak today on behalf of GenderCC, the Gender and Women’s Constituency and the Women’s Caucus.

Gender is about all of us, men and women, it is critical to understanding the social and economic context in which policies, programs and legislation are constructed. This is no less true in the case of a global climate change agreement.

The UN Climate Change Conference has opened with an unprecedented sense of urgency to act on climate change. World leaders seeking a political framework agreement should use this momentum to find a way to balance diverse histories, perspectives and priorities in order to move forward. By anchoring the issues of adaptation and mitigation within the right to development, such an agreement could provide a framework for implementation, enhancing the capacity of countries to adapt to existing climate change challenges, and supplying the needed technology and resources to do so.

A representative of the Women's Environment Network Australia will be participating in the UNFCCC Climate Change gathering in Copenhagen this December.

Jo Tenner, the networks's convenor will be attedning as a member of the Gender and Climate Change delegation.

We will be publishing reports from Jo during the 2 week event.

Stay Tuned!