Overline: COP 25 Side Event

Headline: Women Leaders for Planetary Health

Women Leaders for Planetary Health
Co-creating solutions for gender equity and a healthy planet

The special event on Women Leaders for Planetary Health at the UN Climate Summit (COP25) in Madrid is the launch event for a new initiative of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) focused on women’s empowerment as prerequisite for addressing our current climate crisis and effectively implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Some 25 years after the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995), gender inequality continues to be a barrier to sustainability and health. This event is a unique opportunity to discuss how gender equity could contribute to climate solutions in particular and planetary health in general.

Planetary health is an emerging field of research and policy practice. Simply put, it is about the health of human civilisation and the state of the natural systems on which that depends. Planetary health is not an academic exercise. It addresses a key paradox of our modern times: the growing risks for human health in the Anthropocene, an age beset by drastic environmental change.

This dialogue highlights women’s empowerment as a crucial step towards a healthier planet and healthier people.
With a view to promoting collective thinking and the co-creation of solutions, participants are invited to reflect on the following questions:
•    How is women’s health affected by the current climate crisis?
•    What would be the best way to promote local female leaders in the Global South?
•    Why can gender equality and investing in women’s leadership be an effective way to implement the SDGs and promote planetary health?

The event will close with the launch of a new network of individuals interested in exploiting the synergies between health and environmental change, with a focus on climate change.

Why now?

The time to act for planetary health and gender equality is now. The UNEP Gap Emissions Report has shown that greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise and current political efforts to overcome the climate crisis remain insufficient. To close the unprecedented emissions gap and achieve the Paris Agreement goals, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) would need to be trebled in terms of their level of ambition. This event will demonstrate that climate ambition has a lot to gain from gender equity and from the holistic framework offered by the growing field of planetary health.

Why attend?

The Women Leaders for Planetary Health event will take place at the IASS Dialogue and Reflection Space at COP25. This space is open to all COP participants who wish to explore alternatives to the flood of information available at the Climate Conference and reflect on sustainability challenges with other delegates. No panels or top-down debates are planned in this space. Instead, dialogue and the co-creation of solutions are encouraged in interactive participatory processes, which have been designed as a learning journey by IASS co-creation experts.

Transformative leadership starts with each one of us. If you are passionate about nature and care about your health and gender equity, join us and become an ambassador for planetary health and gender equality!