The buzzword of this year’s climate negotiations is, without a doubt, ‘climate finance’. Finally, countries worldwide will decide on a new target for climate finance at the next Conference of the Parties (COP) in Azerbaijan in November. Rich and polluting countries already agreed to pay countries in the Global South for climate damages as well as mitigation and adaptation projects. It is clear that it is already long overdue that the Global North should put their money where their mouth is. Less mainstream, however, is the morally and pragmatically vital role of taking a feminist approach in deciding on who gets access to climate finance and how it is spent. Feminist perspectives often remain overshadowed and overlooked. Tonight we will discuss why and how the Dutch representatives should push for a fair and feminist climate finance agenda.
About the speakers
Ayesha Amin is a young feminist climate activist with more than 10 years of experience in gender justice, climate change, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and technology for gender equality. She is the founder of Baithak – Challenging Taboos, a feminist grassroots organisation dedicated to gender justice in Pakistan.
Hira Amjad is a feminist leader in climate justice. In 2019, she founded the DASTAK Foundation, a non-profit organisation led by women/survivors, with the mission to decolonise the women’s rights movement, promote social justice, and mainstream the experiences of young girls and women in policy discussions.
Harjeet Singh is the Global Engagement Director at the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. He is an activist advocating for climate and social justice globally. His work has involved assisting countries in responding to disasters, climate impacts, migration, and in bolstering adaptation and resilience programmes.
Suzanne Kröger has been a Member of Parliament for GroenLinks/PvdA since 2017. She worked for Greenpeace for ten years before starting her political career. Kröger also co-wrote the European election programme of GroenLinks-PvdA. She will be one of the representatives of the Dutch Parliament at the COP in Baku.
Ralien Bekkers is author of the book ‘Zo kan het niet langer: Tijd voor vrouwen om de klimaatcrisis op te lossen’, which discusses the problem of the patriarchy in the climate crisis and the necessity of more women as drivers for sustainable change. She has worked on international climate policy for the past decade and currently leads the work on the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action at the Dutch Ministry of Finance.