\nthe next U.N. climate chief will serve the needs of the global community of
\nwomen, and we need to seize it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With Yvo de Boer stepping down as executive secretary <\/p>\n What will make for a strong UNFCCC executive secretary? <\/p>\n As leaders of organizations working at the forefront <\/p>\n Women make up half of the world’s population and 70 <\/p>\n Three female candidates<\/a> are rumored to be under consideration: Maria Fernanda <\/p>\n Certainly we all know from the U.S. experience with <\/p>\n With the UNFCCC soon to enter its third decade, it is long overdue for <\/p>\n ——————-<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Suzanne Ehlers <\/p>\n Negash Teklu is executive <\/p>\n Rosemarie <\/p>\n Wasim Zaman is the executive director of International Council on Management of Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Bolivia’s Morales slams capitalists for causing global warming<\/a><\/p>\n U.N. climate talks in Bonn wrap up after fresh fights<\/a><\/p>\n U.N. climate talks in Bonn are off to a rocky start<\/a><\/p>\n
\nof the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban
\nKi-moon will be appointing a replacement.
\nThe role of the executive secretary is critical to achieving a fair,
\nambitious, and binding climate agreement, and a strong successor to de Boer is
\nabsolutely essential for Cancun<\/a> and beyond.<\/p>\n
\nThe Climate Action Network has issued
\na letter<\/a> articulating important qualifications, which include political
\nleadership, experience with negotiations, commitment to civil society, and a
\nthorough understanding of the challenges of development in the Global South.<\/p>\n
\nof environmental and women’s issues in the Global South, we’d like to add
\nanother qualification to that list: an understanding of the full range of
\ngender issues, including access to reproductive health and family planning.<\/p>\n
\npercent of the world’s poor, produce up to 80 percent of agricultural products
\nin places like sub-Saharan Africa, and stand to face the brunt of climate
\nchange.<\/p>\n
\nEspinoza<\/a> from Ecuador, Elizabeth
\nThompson<\/a> from Barbados, and Christiana
\nFigueres<\/a> from Costa Rica. These women occupy distinct and noteworthy
\npositions within the larger environmental and climate diplomatic circles. Espinoza has held the post of minister for foreign affairs, and
\nis the current Ecuadorian representative to the U.N. Thompson has a
\nwell-known reputation for excellence in diplomacy, having led the Barbados
\ngovernmental delegation to Kyoto. Figueres
\nis a formidable negotiator on climate change and an expert on carbon
\nmarkets.<\/p>\n
\nSarah Palin that being a woman does not a feminist make. On the other hand,
\nensuring gender balance, tracking the number of female elected officials, and actively
\nengaging women at all levels of policy making are all standard and
\nwell-accepted means of measuring an institution’s ability to bring a balanced perspective
\nto its deliberations. Do we wish we lived in world free of such measures and
\nquotas? Perhaps, but the reality is that marginalized perspectives tend to be,
\nwell, just that-marginalized-so our advocacy on this front is not yet finished
\nbusiness.<\/p>\n
\nBan Ki-moon to live up to his own challenge to world governments to give a “greater say to
\nwomen in addressing the climate challenge<\/a>.” In selecting a leader who will be capable of
\ncrafting an effective and fair international agreement, the secretary-general
\nmust seek a candidate with a track record demonstrating a nuanced understanding
\nof the gendered aspects of climate change challenges and solutions. It is time that the U.N. pay more than lip
\nservice to the notion that women
\nare the agents of change<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nis the interim president of Population
\nAction International<\/a>. <\/p>\n
\ndirector of Ethiopia’s Consortium
\nfor Integration of Population, Health, and Environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nMuganda-Onyando is the director of the Centre for the Study of
\nAdolescence in Kenya<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nPopulation Programme<\/a>, Selangor, Malaysia.<\/p>\n