November 30, 2007–New York, NY–In preparation for next week's United Nations (UN) Conference on Climate Change, MADRE today emphasized that human rights must be the starting point for international negotiations on climate policy. MADRE also announced the launch of its climate change blog, inaugurated for the conference.
From December 3-14, representatives of over 180 countries will gather in Bali, Indonesia to outline steps for the international community to address the crisis of climate change. While UN discussions to date have seldom mentioned gender, MADRE believes that a gender analysis is vital to the creation of policies that can meet the twin challenges of controlling climate change while advancing human development.
Yifat Susskind, MADRE Communications Director, said today, "We can see evidence all around us that the threat of climate change is not just looming–it is already here. People confronting poverty in developing countries, the majority of whom are women, already bear the brunt of climate change effects, from reduced agricultural capacities to intensifying natural disasters. While MADRE and our sister organizations work locally to promote sustainable development, we will join other women's human rights advocates in Bali to ensure that the role of women in confronting climate change is recognized."
MADRE representatives in attendance during the first week of the conference will be available by email beginning December 3 for comment. In addition, MADRE will provide daily updates in a blog, titled "All Eyes on Bali, " to monitor the latest developments at the conference, comment on the trajectory of the discussions, and transmit perspectives from non-governmental organizations. This blog is now available here: http://bloggingonbali.blogspot.com.
If you are interested in receiving MADRE's blog updates from Bali or other commentary, contact MADRE Media Coordinator Diana Duarte at diana@madre.org.
Available for comment:
Yifat Susskind, MADRE Communications Director: yifat@madre.org
Diana Duarte, MADRE Media Coordinator: diana@madre.org
