Women don’t talk, they deliver results to tackle climate change

A group of women worldwide are taking action to improve their lives by helping address climate change issues, such as the ‘1 Million Women’ movement in Australia. Watch this video.

Momentum for Change Women For Results - 2013 Lighthouse activities from Momentum for Change on Vimeo.

Women for Results, an initiative that showcases women’s proactive stance on climate change issues, is debunking the stereotype that women merely talk a lot – instead, they take action and deliver results, especially when it comes to finding practical solutions to environmental problems.

The platform, set up by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat under its ‘Momentum for Change’ programme, recognises what women all over the world can do. Momentum for Change looks for innovative and transformative solutions worldwide that can be replicated and implemented by communities facing the same economic, social and environmental challenges.

Started in December 2012, the Women for Results shows how women lead and harness their potential to address poverty and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.

One such project is the ‘1 Million Women’ in Australia – a movement that allows women to make pledges and take action on climate change, whether through their households, workplaces or communities.

The campaign focuses on simple goals that can create big impact, including those small actions that are part of day-to-day lives, like saving energy and reducing waste. To date, 104,678 women in Australia have joined the campaign, all committing to help cut over 100,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, notes the movement in its website.

Meanwhile, women in Bangladesh also show through the Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction programme that they can take matters into their own hands, since women are the most vulnerable to the impacts of severe floods, typhoons and drought.

ActionAid Bangladesh, the non-profit group involved in the adaptation and disaster risk reduction programme, trains and assists women from rural communities to lead in assessing climate risks and then identifying action plans. This has led to tangible results such as improved cooking stoves that reduce their health’s exposure to air pollution, as well as building temporary dams to protect their crops from salt water intrusion.

Other programmes include ‘Food and Trees for Africa’, ‘Women Farmers in Guatemala’, ‘The Boma Project’ in Kenya, and ‘Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative’. All of these activities have the potential to be replicated and scaled up at the local, national and international levels, the UNFCCC website said.

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