COP19 (14/11/2013) – Aira Kalela, Senior Adviser, Finland talks about why gender is important in discussions on climate change.

She says climate change has different impacts on men and women. She talks about how  Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and increasing droughts in Africa are destroying harvests and therefore having a serious impact on the daily lives and food security of women and their families.

She says, although a lot has been done over the past three years to make sure gender has been integrated in discussions on climate change, additional instruments still need to be made in Paris in 2015 – including a legally binding instrument.

She says that the main challenge now is to implement the decisions that have been made such as gender equality targets.