Environment Ministry and UN Chile sign important document to implement gender and climate change project
The initiative includes a study to be conducted by UN Chile that will provide the Environment Ministry with information on vulnerability to climate change and gender gaps so that it can adopt mitigation and adaptation measures.
Earlier today, Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Chile Silvia Rucks, and Honorary Consul of Luxembourg in Chile Juan Manuel Fuentes signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a project on gender and climate change. The initiative will enjoy the support of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as part of Chile’s leadership of COP25 and is to be implemented by the United Nations System in Chile.
The study will be executed by UN Chile with technical support from the UNDP, UN Women and FAO. It is designed to remedy the lack of statistical data that can be used to identify situations of gender inequality and will allow the Environment Ministry to be clear on the priorities for climate change policies and actions.
Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt explained, “Women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but we are also important agents of change. The gender perspective plays a fundamental role in understanding the disproportional impact of climate change and loss of biodiversity due to existing structural inequalities.”
For her part, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Chile Silvia Rucks praised this joint initiative, “which reflects our mutual interest in using Chile’s COP25 leadership to ensure that national policies and programs on climate change include a gender approach. We also hope to provide opportunities for women to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies.”
The Honorary Consul of Luxembourg in Chile, Juan Manuel Fuentes, stated that Luxembourg is pleased to be participating in this initiative, “which will allow the new generations to have a healthy country, a healthier environment and greater respect for gender issues.”
The data generated will be desegregated by sex and territory and published in an atlas that will highlight the distribution of inequalities in the population from the standpoint of the vulnerabilities to climate change.