Good to see you!
I am glad you could join us this week.
We are in the middle of the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (Cop27) where countries come together to achieve the climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Did things change since then? Not sure?
At least not in terms of women’s representation in climate talks. Please look at this “family” photo of the world leaders at Cop27:
Joep Janssen on LinkedIn: #wherearethewomen #cop27 #climatechange | 60 comments
What's wrong with this picture? #WhereAreTheWomen This photo clicked by Reuters shows world leaders at #cop27 gather for a "family" photograph. It’s time we… | 60 comments on LinkedIn
More women in climate talks
Climate change has turned out to be a male-dominated discussion, whereas, women and girls suffer the most!
Women are required to take care of their families, carry water for miles and feed children even in the middle of a catastrophe. Women and children around the world spend millions of hours every day collecting water. Children, especially young girls, drop out of school because they need to collect water.
That is why we need more women in climate talks.
Let’s make a connection between this gender equality issue and water. Our planet is warming, and floods and droughts will become more frequent and severe around the world. In some places there’s too much water, and in other too little.
Our world leaders have to look at this photo as it is a mirror, and ask themselves: How can we accelerate this transition towards gender equality in climate talks?
Let’s talk about water
Today we bring you an exclusive interview with Geoffrey Kamadi, our Kenyan storyteller, who made the “Story of the Week” about how communities are being engaged for better climate adaptation.
A survey in east Africa showed that people were not using the weather and climate information that was available. Kamadi travelled to Taita Taveta County in Kenya to learn about a project, called Season-Media Action Plan (SMAP), that aims at communities dealing with weather uncertainties.
The project also enables interactions with meteorologists and connects it with media to report climate and weather issues regularly in the vernacular language.
What’s the most insightful piece you’ve read about water or climate this month?
It’s an interesting article titled: "How to make recyclable plastics out of CO2 to slow climate change" published in the September 10 issue of Science News magazine. The in-depth article offers a fascinating perspective on where the whole debate on carbon sequestration is now headed.
Whereas carbon capture and storage using technology is not an all-new concept, this is now shifting to the utilization of the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere using technology by making tangible products like apparel from this greenhouse gas. And new enterprises are emerging as a result. Very interesting!
What’s the first book you fondly remember reading and loving?
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
What is the most important lesson or innovation have you learned from local citizens regarding to climate and water?
The most effective interventions have to be owned and driven by the local people for whom they are designed.
What did you remember most from your reporting trip to Taita Taveta County?
Everybody is engaged, right from the farmer, the journalist, and the scientist in the dissemination and utilisation of weather and climate information.
Story of the Week
Convincing communities on benefits of using weather information
A survey in east Africa showed that people were not using the weather and climate information that was available. A project in a Kenyan county makes sure that communities use the weather information, by enabling interactions with meteorologists, and by helping the media report the information regularly in the vernacular language.
Wrap up
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See you next time,
Joep
