In the new State of World Population 2009 report, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), shows how people, especially empowered women, could make a difference in the fight against climate change. Richard Kollodge from UNFPA discuses the main findings of the report titled Facing a Changing World: Women, Population and Climate.

Zunia: What are some of the main findings of this year’s State of the World Population report?

Kollodge: People cause climate change. People are affected by it. People need to adapt to it. And only people have the power to stop it. Despite the centrality of people to the whole issue of climate change, the majority of the discussion leading up to the Copenhagen climate change conference has been almost devoid of references to the human dimension. Most talk has revolved around technology as either the problem or the solution. Technology alone cannot solve global climate change. We need to focus on the role that people play in population through population growth, consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Our future as humanity depends on unleashing the full potential of all people to bring about change for the better.

Zunia: The State of the World Population report claims that women bear the brunt of climate change. What makes women particularly vulnerable?

Kollodge: Women are generally more vulnerable than men because they tend to be poorer than men. The poor lack the resources that would enable them to adapt to the effects of climate change or that would empower them to mobilize against climate change. In many parts of the world, women are responsible for producing much of the food. Droughts, which may occur more frequently in the years ahead, threaten to undermine not only production of food, but also the livelihoods of millions of women. In addition, there is some evidence, especially from Asia, that more women than men die as a result of natural disasters, including those related to severe weather.

Zunia: What can be done to make climate change policies more gender inclusive?

Kollodge: Gender should be taken into account in any policy at the national or international level that attempts to address climate change. One way of ensuring that gender is taken into account is to ensure that more women are represented in climate change negotiations. At previous major international conferences addressing climate change, women accounted for only a fraction of delegations. One can expect a gender-balanced approach to climate change only when there is gender balance at the bargaining table.

Zunia: What role can women play in climate change mitigation?

Kollodge: Women everywhere are already making a difference by leading local, national and even international movements that promote sustainable development, or rather, development with a low-carbon footprint. Such women profiled in the State of World Population 2009 include Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, who is credited with the Green Belt Movement, and Malini Mehra, who heads the Centre for Social Markets, a non-governmental organization in India and the United Kingdom that is dedicated to making markets work for what she calls "the triple bottom line": people, the planet and profit.
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Richard Kollodge is the editor of UNFPA's State of World Population report. Before taking up his current assignment, he held senior editorial, news production and publishing posts at the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Mine Action Service in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.