Women's voices need to be heard at the climate negotiating table, experts have told The National, as the role of women and small and medium enterprises was highlighted at Cop29.
As heads of state gathered in Baku for the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, only a handful of the 78 attendees were women, prompting the question: “Where are all the women?”
That question had reverberated across climate forums at the start of the year when Azerbaijan initially announced an all-male Cop29 organising committee. This was later updated to include 12 female leaders.
“While women are on the front lines of climate crises around the world, they're still being sidelined at decision-making tables,” said feminist activist Yasmina Benslimane, who is the founder and president of Politics4Her.
Why does gender representation matter?
According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), women commonly face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change in situations of poverty, and the majority of the world’s poor are women.
Jessica Robinson, climate and gender expert and partner at Solve Strategies, told The National that there is an urgent need for equal representation in negotiations.
“Many female climate leaders are bringing exactly the kind of leadership qualities that are critical to our collective success. At the same time, we have overwhelming evidence that inclusive leadership in climate discussions ensures not only gender justice but leads to more equitable and resilient agreements in the long term. This benefits everyone.”
Nigar Arpadarai, the UN climate change high-level champion for Cop29, has been campaigning for women and small and medium-sized enterprises at the climate summit. She believes that education plays a critical role in empowering women globally and combating climate change. “We want to see more women in leadership roles, we want to see more women in private sector, we want to see more women being side by side with men, and having equal opportunities.”
It is estimated that close to 40 per cent of small and medium sized enterprises globally are owned by women, and building on this will help move the inequality needle.
Speaking at a panel organised by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and moderated by The National on the sidelines of Cop29, Ms Arpadarai said, “I think that owning an SME or working for an SME is the way for women to bypass glass ceiling in many cases, in many countries of the world.”
To facilitate growth in this area, she launched the climate-proofing SMEs campaign, “I can announce that at this moment we have 35 collaborators and they are reaching 65 million SMEs globally. Our main goal here is to do capacity building for SMEs and show them how to access finance – and show them opportunities that comes with green transition.”
Speaking at the event, IFC managing director Makhtar Diop said one of the best ways to support women is to provide them with the assets they need to play a bigger role in productive sectors.
Mr Diop called on the financial community to provide equity to women to enable them to open their own businesses. “I think one of the best ways to support women is to help them to have the asset they need to play a bigger role in the productive sector when you have more value add and therefore more income.”
Rose Goslinga, co-founder and chief executive of Pula, a company that uses technology to scale climate insurance to smallholder farmers in emerging markets, said that of the five million farmers insured through the platform last year, 40 per cent were women. “This hasn’t always been the case,” Ms Goslinga said, adding that understanding community gender difference is key.
Further gender talks will be on the agenda at Cop29, with a high-level event on gender and transparency scheduled for November 21.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
