Women are taking the lead towards embedding equity into financial disclosures related to climate-centric endeavors.
Selected via a global process, Women in Climate Tech recently announced the individuals who will make up the Task for Equity in Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TECFD.) Women in Climate Tech is devoted to making women’s and nonbinary individuals’ voices heard by providing climate technology solutions to global issues.
The TECFD is composed of experts on sustainability, natural energy, corporate resilience, as well as analysts and researchers. It has multi-pronged objectives. First, it aims to improve public understanding regarding how climate change and gender equity are connected. Second, it wants to understand how gender inequity can adversely impact any net-zero or resilience initiatives. Lastly, the task force points out potential opportunities that may come about once inequities are addressed, along with possible climate change solutions.
Women-led climate change efforts
Currently, the task force’s responsibilities are centered on gender equity. The results of their initial efforts will serve as the foundation for other initiatives. In general, they will consider the entirety of gender equity in the context of addressing climate change. In turn, the results will be the basis of an equity-driven toolkit that can be used by governments and the corporate sector.
Each team under the task force is aligned with a core value of the TECFD framework. Members are expected to delve into the interrelation of gender equity and climate change, noting specific risks and opportunities. Any findings from initial efforts will be presented at the upcoming Climate Week Nest Summit slated for September 2021 in New York.
Climate and equity: the challenge
Collectively, the TECFD agrees that climate-related financial disclosures have changed the game for many companies, as these have helped measure the impact of climate change on business and industry. These results have enabled companies to formulate relevant strategies while navigating through the challenge of giving a fair share of benefits to those in underserved populations on the front lines.
As Project Drawdown director Jamie Alexander puts it, there is a strong, longstanding link between climate and equity. Indeed, she noted that gender equity is considered a multiplier in terms of climate change solutions. “It’s essential [for all relevant sectors to mix] equity into [any] work that addresses climate risk,” she says.
The formation of the new TECFD comes hot on the heels of the IPCC’s recent climate change report which was referred to by United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres as “code red for humanity.”
According to representatives from Women in Climate Tech, the task force is geared towards showing how diversity and equity in industry can amplify innovation in the fields of clean-tech and climate tech, potentially resulting in better solutions that can help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change across the globe.
