Copenhagen 15: What it means for women and girls

Maybe you’ve heard about it in the news: right now, 30,000 people are in Copenhagen (in Denmark) trying to create a plan to address climate change. By the end of this week, world leaders hope that they will have an agreement that will “stabilize the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous man-made climate change.“

Climate change causes “shorter, unpredictable rainy seasons, severe typhoons, hurricanes and floods, long-lasting droughts, and repeatedly failed harvests.”

So what does this mean for women and girls?

It sounds simple, but a big issue for women and girls around the world is time. What I mean is that the amount of time spent preparing food and managing the household can have a big impact on whether girls are able to go to school, get a job or get medical care. Without electricity or running water, women often spend a big chunk of their day getting firewood and hauling water.

Climate change can have a big impact on the time women spend getting supplies:

Deforestation caused by climate change means that women have to travel farther to get enough wood.
When water supplies are contaminated through climate change, women have to travel farther to a clean water source and are often at risk of getting water-borne diseases.

We want them to come up with a good plan at Copenhagen, so that we can try to stop the negative impact of climate change on our neighbourhoods and communities around the world. If you would like to get involved in making sure that this plan is the best possible for women and girls, you can:

Follow Plan’s young journalists blogging from Copenhagen
Tweet, FB, and comment about what you want from the agreement at Copenhagen

Stay tuned for my next post when I look at some of the women who are representing us girls in Copenhagen this week! They rock!

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1 responses to “Copenhagen 15: What it means for women and girls”

Don S
December 21st, 2009 at 16:45

I understand your concerns of the imact of Climate Change on the everyday lives of women and girls. However there is much speculation as to the causes and levels of man-made climate change. Climate change has been, and always will be, regardless of Man. The economic reforms proposed at the Coppenhagen Summit will alter lives. Maybe a girl in Africa will benefit from the money given by the West, but it might also mean that a girl in United States will be plunged into unfamiliar povery when her dad looses his job in industry (all of which is rooted in fossil fuel consumption). Life is never really as simple as it is in the mind of a young girl trying to look out for her family. I hope the world gets its act together on this without resorting to petty fear mongering, or on the other side of the coin, lethargy.

Don S
December 21st, 2009 at 16:45

I understand your concerns of the imact of Climate Change on the everyday lives of women and girls. However there is much speculation as to the causes and levels of man-made climate change. Climate change has been, and always will be, regardless of Man. The economic reforms proposed at the Coppenhagen Summit will alter lives. Maybe a girl in Africa will benefit from the money given by the West, but it might also mean that a girl in United States will be plunged into unfamiliar povery when her dad looses his job in industry (all of which is rooted in fossil fuel consumption). Life is never really as simple as it is in the mind of a young girl trying to look out for her family. I hope the world gets its act together on this without resorting to petty fear mongering, or on the other side of the coin, lethargy.