Women are key to climate action: Sowmiya Anbumani at UN

CHENNAI: Pasumai Thaayagam president Sowmiya Anbumani on Thursday urged world leaders to take immediate action to cut down on emissions and ensure gender equality in climate action and a sustainable future for all.

During her speech at the 57th session of the United Nation Human Rights Council in Geneva, she pointed out that women in developing regions are most impacted by climate change. "Gender inequality and environmental degradation aggravates the disproportionate impact on women especially in agriculture, water security, health, nutrition and climate-induced migration," she said.

She added that due to climate change, every year hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls discontinue their school education due to lack of water in their school toilets.

"Addressing the disproportionate impact of climate change on women requires empowering women through education, land rights, access to resources and involving women in the decision-making process at local, national and international levels," Sowmiya emphasised.

Alleging that western countries are responsible for historical emissions since the Industrial Revolution, she said that developing countries and island nations, despite contributing the least, face the most severe impacts.