By Kathleen Lei Limayo

We need more women to fight for climate justice. Climate change is not just an environmental problem. It is a gender issue. Women who are in poverty are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Women have to face higher risks from sea level rise, immobility or displacement due to climate change related natural disasters. Women comprise 43% of the agricultural sector around the globe, majority of which live in poverty situations. Women who live of the land, raising livestock and inhabiting coastal areas have to face extreme weather conditions due to climate change. As a woman, I believe that fighting for climate justice is fighting for the justice of all women. This international women’s day, let us call on more women to join the climate movement.

We need women who to engage with climate justice from different walks of life, with different educational backgrounds, and varying economic status. Every woman can fight against climate change in whatever capacity and status they are in. As a woman filmmaker and photographer, my involvement with climate movement is to tell stories about the effects of climate change in the Philippines. I am new to the climate movement but not powerless. I may be a novice from technical and complex discussions about climate change, but that never stopped me from using my talent for climate justice.  

We need more women to fight for climate justice because we have caring mothers and daughter who sacrificially takes care of their families. Women are most disadvantaged during climate change related disasters because they have to take care of their families needs. A woman’s decision during a typhoon is not solely her personal decision. How she responds to a disaster is always anchored towards the needs of her family.

We need more women on the climate movement because we need technological innovations on the energy sector  that are gender inclusive. When more women are involved in the innovations of renewable energies, technologies can empower more women. Renewable energy use does not just mitigate climate change, it paves the way for social and economic development for all.

We need more women who will show up on demonstrations. We need more women to sign petitions. We need more women who will keep politicians and private companies accountable. We need more women who will innovate for renewable energies. We need women scientists, engineers, teachers, activists, students, leaders, policy makers, storytellers. We need more women to fight for climate justice.