Women in Climate Diplomacy

Despite seeing activists such as Greta Thunberg at the forefront of the climate movement, the lack of women’s senior leadership in climate negotiations is an ongoing issue and a concern for the future of climate diplomacy and foreign policy. Given the low representation of women in political roles — globally, only 21% of government ministers are women — it is not surprising that climate delegations are gender imbalanced. The gendered division of labour, we continue to see at events such as COP26, is characteristic of wider systemic issues in climate negotiations, as less than 30% of negotiators on climate change are women. The panellists will discuss what must change and how different scenarios will affect climate diplomacy, climate policy, and delivering on the 1.5°C pledge as a result?

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Women in Climate Diplomacy

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Women in Climate Diplomacy

This webinar was held on Wednesday 16 February 2022.

Meet the speakers and chair

Ermira Fida is Deputy Secretary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Ermira Fida has more than 26 years of work experience at the national and international level with progressively growing management and leadership functions on climate change policy, programming, finance, science and intergovernmental process. Her long career in climate has taken her from former chief climate change negotiator and Head of UNDP Climate Change Program for Albania to addressing the priority needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other developing countries by leading the UNEP’s climate change program and the partnerships with Global Funds.

Danae Kyriakopoulou is Senior Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics where she leads the policy work on climate and economic development. From 2016 to 2021, she was the Chief Economist and Director of Research of the Official Monetary and Financial Institution Forum (OMFIF). As part of this, she set up the Sustainable Policy Institute and served as its Managing Director and Chair of its Advisory Council, of which she is now a member. Previously she was Managing Economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research. She holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an MSc in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford.

Bernice Lee is Hoffmann Distinguished Fellow for Sustainability and Research Director – Futures and Chair of the Sustainability Accelerator Advisory Council at Chatham House. An expert on the politics of climate change, innovation for sustainability, international trade and China, she is a member of the UK Global Resource Initiative Task Force, the UK Climate Change Committee's International Advisory Group and the Energy Foundation China Board and the World Economic Forum Commission on Biodiverse Cities. Bernice has previously been Director of Climate Change and Resource Security Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, Director of the Energy, Environment and Resources Department at Chatham House as well as Founding Executive Director of the Hoffmann Centre for Sustainable Resource Economy (now relaunched as the Chatham House Sustainability Accelerator. In 2011, she was awarded an OBE for services to UK–China climate change cooperation. She holds degrees from the University of Oxford and LSE.

Karen E. Smith is Professor of International Relations and Head of Department, Department of International Relations, LSE.