Every Gen Z individual knows it. The term they equate with “saving the planet” or “undoing the damages the prior generations have caused to our planet”. A word that has been practically deformed by the many companies who tried to greenwash their way through and clean their conscience from the guilt of producing a carbon footprint big enough to accelerate the process of global warming with every passing day.
That word is “sustainability”. A word initially added to a crucial conversation, meant to solve the biggest and sometimes most invisible crisis our generation will have to face during their lifetime. Now, it is associated with big corporations either trying to get positive press or people who think they have come with a new “innovative” idea that doesn’t sell because we choose convenience over alternative and raw truth on a daily basis.
With the recent COP26 summit, I couldn’t help but wonder: what is women’s contribution to the conversation on the future of our planet? Were they heard or just invited to fill the women’s quotas, as has now become habit more and more? What prominent figures attended the summit and what propositions were made by women in the field? How involved were women really?
To start, numerous events were organised throughout the summit to promote “female” participation in the general matter of the climate crisis, such as the recent Gender Day Presidency Event organized by UN Women on November 9th. Prominent figures, such as Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Angela Merkel, Amina J. Mohammed and even the self-proclaimed climate leader herself, Greta Thunberg, who made a memorable entrance with her speech, attended the summit and showed the support of their country.
On a more positive note, when looking at the highlights of the summit, it becomes apparent that there were indeed women who not only came forward and addressed the main issues filter less, but also pointed out the prevailing gender gap, even in the subject of climate change. The 23-year-old Samoan activist Brianna Fruean came forward with one of the most creative ways to portray how gender inequality affects women first and disproportionately. As she commenced her speech on stage, she brought with her Amal, an oversized wooden puppet, representing a 9-year-old Syrian refugee girl, like there have been so many over the past few years, fleeing the civil war the country has faced. Fruean held a moving speech about how Amal represented a generation we owe to save by fostering the “seeds” she would give us to plant and take care of, so she would have a better future. The seeds are a metaphor of our selfish generation that needs to become a bit more selfless and compassionate of the world around of, before it is too late for any actions to be taken.
Subsequently, the usual discussion of “investing in girls” to solve global issues was brought up and it was stressed that giving women access to more of such events and platforms would solve apparent problems… like climate change for instance. But before we can invest in girls, we need to first raise awareness why it is of the utmost importance for girls to take action in the climate crisis. Woman are the first affected by this crisis: they are the ones who become most vulnerable when food or drinkable water becomes scarce (especially during pregnancy), they are the once subjected to longer travels to look for resources, as global warming ravages lands, they were used to foster. Yet somehow, they remain the most disadvantaged and overlooked actors in the conversation.
Therefore, on Gender Day, Alok Sharma, a notorious member of the parliament of the United Kingdom (who resigned in order to host the COP26 summit), made a crucial statement urging everyone to act more proactively towards gender equality, so the crisis can be tackled more efficiently and faster. But there again, one can sense a bitter aftertaste of this statement: why does it take a catastrophic situation and the statement that women are the “last resort” for climate change to empower and promote gender equality? Is the reason that we are all equal, regardless of the gender, not sufficient?
Our generation of girls and young women shall prove that we don’t need an excuse or a reason to be enough.
Article by Calypso Dubos