That was a key focus of the special session on Women and Climate Change at the Third Pacific Ocean Pacific Climate Change virtual conference where participants heard how Pacific island women leaders are working across six Pacific countries through the Shifting the Power Coalition for an inclusive approach to climate change and related disasters.
During the session our Technical Adviser, Sharon Bhagwan Rolls highlighted the importance of investing in the innovation and initiatives of local women to strengthen diverse women’s voices, agency and decision making in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
It is one of the reasons she said why the Shifting the Power Coalition is working to enhance accountability to these commitments through an intergenerational approach that supports Pacific women, in particular women from rural communities, young women and those with disabilities to gain access to climate services and information.
Conference participants heard how the Coalition is a Pacific women-led model with a strong focus on enabling a South-to-South exchange holding up Pacific led innovations, and not seeing capacity building as a one way North to South transfer. It also works at promoting an intersectional approach that goes beyond a generic approach to ‘gender’ as if all women’s experiences were the same.