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Regulars at UN climate summits were shocked when Egypt was named the Cop27’s president this week.
They believed Yasmine Fouad, the environment minister, was a sure thing. She is a climate scientist with a lot of international experience and did a great job co-chairing the finance talks at Cop26.
The top job was instead given to Sameh Shoukry, a foreign minister who is unknown in the climate space. Fouad was given a secondary, but important, role.
It’s not surprising, when you consider it. There are numerous examples of climate experts being overpowered by perceived political power in the history of Cop presidential nominations.
It is certain that political savvy is vital to a successful outcome. Understanding the science is not enough to make deals happen. Unfortunately, the unfortunate result of choosing power brokers is a wide gender gap: Only five out of 26 Cops were chaired by women.
What if instead of strengthening existing hierarchies, the Cop could be used to promote and empower those most affected by the climate crisis?
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman boasted at this week’s virtual Davos of an “extremely well emancipated society”, in which “young Saudi ladies” were particularly interested in developing pink hydrogen.
What if these women were given a platform to express themselves instead of being perpetuated by gender stereotypes?
Cop28 is scheduled to take place in UAE in 2023. Its environment minister happens be Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri. Maybe Abu Dhabi will break with the trend.
This week’s stories
Source: Climate Change News
