The author originally published this article on LinkedIn. The Chanzo is republishing the article here with the author’s special permission. Minor edits have been made to enhance readability.
I was scheduled to deliver our #COP29 closing statement earlier this morning, November 24, 2024. However, we, along with a few other constituencies, chose to opt out as a collective expression of our disappointment with both the process and the quality of the [New Qualified Goals] NCQG outcome. Below is the full statement.
My name is Mwanahamisi Singano, and I am speaking on behalf of the Women and Gender Constituency. What we have witnessed here is lack of transparency from the COP29 Presidency, harming trust, collective work and multilateralism.
This COP should have been a place to restore hope, sending a clear commitment to the global community that we are on track to end climate injustices and remedy the harms of the climate crisis.
Instead, developed countries—those who have caused the climate crisis—decided to dodge their historical responsibility and obligations. They decided that the lives of people in developing countries don’t matter; that their livelihoods can be destroyed with their greed; and that their territories can be washed away by extreme weather events. They simply don’t care.
We came to this COP to advance feminist climate justice and secure feminist futures. Our fight does not end with women’s participation or gender mainstreaming. We want to see the 1.5° C target secured and public finance from developed countries to developing countries in the scale and urgency required delivered.
We stood resolute with allies and developing countries to affirm that no deal is better than a bad deal. The crumbs offered to us seem to be the result of a charity auction that we will not accept. This process cannot be turned into the playground of multilateral banks to profit from the ecological collapse.
This process cannot be the shop for dangerous distractions such as carbon markets and geoengineering to continue the plunder and destruction. We call on all stakeholders not to engage in Article 6 market approaches. Let us be clear: This is about the lives that have been erased and the lives that we must avoid losing.
There is no climate justice without human rights! There is no climate justice without gender justice!
Feminists will continue to hold the line – as we have demonstrated here in Baku, as we will in Bélem – and beyond!
We hold the line! #CeasefireNow,
Women’s Environment & Development Organization!
Mwanahamisi Singano is the Director of Policy at the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO). She’s available on X as @MSalimu. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chanzo. If you are interested in publishing in this space, please contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com.
