Excellencies, friends, colleagues,  

The climate crisis is upon us, and we are only just beginning to endure the consequences of the neglect we have shown to our planet.  

Melting ice caps, rising sea levels, the proliferation of extreme weather events, and the increasing frequency of natural disasters, testify to this new and terrifying reality.  

What is becoming equally obvious is that those consequences are not gender neutral. Women continue to be disproportionately affected by climate change and disasters.  

The numbers speak for themselves: women represented more than 70% of the dead from the 2004 Asian tsunami; 61% of the deaths in the 2008 cyclone Nargis in Myanmar; 91% of the deaths in the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh; and 75% of those displaced due to rains and flooding in 18 African countries in 2007. And these are just those directly impacted.  

Numbers do not lie. The onus then is on us to ensure that global climate response and resilience strategies reflect the facts on the ground… that they be gender sensitive and gender responsive.  

Excellencies,  

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Our efforts must be on multiple fronts. We must acknowledge the disproportionate impacts endured by women, while at the same time empowering them to act alongside their peers, at every level, to build climate and disaster-resilient communities. We must also recognize that efforts are being undertaken by women, at multiple levels, and give them the platforms and support they need.  

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction must serve as our roadmap. This is particularly important now, as we approach the midterm review of Sendai. Its chief strength is that it recognizes the importance of local contexts, and of giving communities the discretion to shape their own responses, working alongside all partners, in a manner best suited to them.   

Drawing upon Sendai’s principles of inclusion and community engagement, we will better position ourselves to empower women working in climate and disaster risk management. This is especially vital in the wake of COVID-19. Because, while the pandemic has affected us all, its impacts and tragedies were more keenly felt among already vulnerable populations, including women and girls.   

We must take action now and fulfil our existing commitments under the Sendai Framework, while taking into account their gender action plans.  

Excellencies,  

COVID-19 has given us reason to pause and reflect on what we could have been doing better prior to its emergence. It gave us the opportunity to consider the kind of world we want to inhabit after we leave the pandemic behind.  

We must seize this unique opportunity to transform our societies, to usher in a world that is climate responsible and gender equal.  

Towards these ends it is essential now, as we emerge from COVID-19, that we recognize and support women. We must empower those who are working at the grassroots level to ensure they have the capacity to help their communities avert, adapt to, and mitigate disaster risk.  

We must learn from their insights into the challenges faced by local communities, especially those in disaster-prone areas, so that we can help tailor contextual responses.  

And as part of our broader efforts to address the historical injustices of women’s exclusion and marginalization, we must empower women leaders in climate, conservation, and disaster-risk management.  

A gender-sensitive midterm review of the Sendai Framework can help achieve each of these goals. 

Together, we can empower women, accelerate our ongoing efforts to recover better, and secure a more resilient, hopeful future for all of humanity.  

Thank you.