Minister for Women, Lynda Tabuya says the world must create an enabling environment for women and girls, are powerful agents of change who can contribute to the ambitious action needed to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the theme UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, Tabuya said the participation and representation of women and girls should be a top priority in efforts to build community resilience, with equal and inclusive involvement in mitigation and adaptation.
Tabuya said despite creating an enabling environment, the urgency for simplified access to climate finance for a “Just Transition” cannot be overstated.
“A clear and critical gap to ensuring these policy commitments deliver results for women and girls on the ground and particularly at the grassroots level is the resourcing and means of implementation. We need to ensure that policy commitments are backed with consistent and scalable investments and direct financing.”
The Minister highlighted that Fiji was the first Small Island Developing States to include the blue carbon sector in our LEDs, by incorporating mangrove ecosystems.
Tabuya said to ensure we deliver on our climate action commitments, Fiji has put in place a law – the Fiji Climate Change Act – that binds our aspirations for mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk management actions.
“Fiji fully recognizes the shift towards a low-carbon economy must be inclusive, leaving no one behind. This transformation cannot disproportionately fall on the shoulders of those who are least responsible for the current climate crisis, particularly women and girls. Our Climate Change Act prescribes specific gender outcomes,” she said.
