Launched in 2022, in celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March), the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and PGA’s Parliamentary Campaign on Climate Action, PGA Members around the world take part in the annual Gender Equality Climate Challenge (#GenderClimateChallenge) throughout the month of March.
PGA's Climate Action Campaign seeks to raise awareness and assist in the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement, a historic treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean that recognizes, protects and promotes the rights of all human rights defenders of the environment. As a threat multiplier, climate change disproportionately impacts disinfranchised populations, often placing women, indigenous and afro-descendant peoples at the forefront as human rights defeners of the environment.
Inspired by the 2022 CSW priority theme, the annual #GenderClimateChallenge asks our Members, "What actions are you taking as a parliamentarian for gender equality today to build a more sustainable tomorrow?" Their remarks are inspiring:
Last year [2022], Pakistan experienced the devastating impacts of climate change when our monsoon season brought up to eight times more rain than usual, causing destructive flooding that impacted millions, submerged entire communities, and leveled crops and livelihoods. Over the years, we have consistently seen increasing climate devastation, pushing Pakistan to the frontlines of the climate emergency.
Seventy percent of the millions impacted by the floods are women and children, and it is women around the world who are most often on the frontlines of this climate crisis. To ensure gender-responsive, multi-sectoral national actions, we have recently developed a National Climate Change Gender Action Plan that will allow us to narrow gender gaps to build inclusive sustainable development, climate action and resilience for all.
On International Women’s Day, the French Embassy, Agence française de développement (AFD), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN Pakistan), under the patronage of the Minister of Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman, a PGA member, awarded the first Pakistan Gender and Climate Awards to three women-led organizations. It is important to recognize the instrumental role women play, and the awards showcase the inspirational and concrete women-led solutions for climate action to create a more fair, equal and healthy planet.
Hon. Syed Naveed Qamar, MP (Pakistan), PGA President
For more, visit Episode 9 of PGA’s Insights by Lawmakers series, visit PGA's Insights by Lawmakers series.
Greetings fellow PGA members! March 8th was International Women’s Day, but every day should be Women’s Day!
At the end of February 2022, I stepped down from Belize’s Senate to take up a position with an international NGO. I am delighted to share that Janelle Chanona, Vice President for Oceana-Belize, was elected and has been appointed to be the new representative for Belize’s NGO community thus increasing women representation in Parliament.
In my new role, I will be leading an initiative that seeks to develop the world’s first fully coastal and marine Project Finance for Permanence initiative. With international and national support, the initiative aims to secure long-lasting protection of Belize’s unique and globally significant biodiversity, foster long-term economic viability and sustainable livelihoods, as well as strengthen coastal communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change. We will design and institute social and environmental safeguards to ensure, among other things, that gender equality and indigenous concerns are integrated into a long-term marine and coastal conservation plan for Belize.
My 5 years of service in Belize’s Senate was an invaluable experience that I will never forget. I will continue supporting the work of NGOs in Belize and by extension advocate for the strengthening of sustainable human development.
Former Senator Osmany Salas, Belize
There is evidence that women spend resources fairer, more sustainable + inclusive. To increase sustainability, we must include more women & girls in decision-making processes. I try to encourage young women in my constituency to engage in politics. Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria), PGA Treasurer
There is a direct relationship between gender equality, women’s empowerment and climate change. As politicians, we should continue our advocacy and engagement to achieve gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow! Hon. Ibtissame Azzaoui, MP (Morocco)
As a parliamentarian, I take action for gender equality today to create a more sustainable tomorrow by my strong stand on equality, freedom of expression and the right to life and to enjoy life, help those who need an ear, respect those who have come before us, and remind the world that there was a time we could not be us, and we have become us. Hon. Taylor Jowelle de Souza, MP (Trinidad & Tobago)
Dip. Pamela Jiles & Dip. Sofía Cid V. (Chile)
Let’s give our girls a future to look forward to where they are safe, able to realize their full potential, and know that they can be anything that they want to be. The Escazú Agreement is a groundbreaking regional tool that places equality at the center of sustainable development, empowering all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs. I urge my fellow MPs in the Caribbean to call on our Governments to ratify this important Agreement and give our girls a future to look forward to. Hon. Angela Brown Burke (Jamaica), PGA Executive Committee
