Making waves: 9 Remarkable Moments for Population, Gender & the Environment in 2015

2015 was sea of change for gender rights, human rights, and the environment. At high tide we saw some incredible victories like the United Nation’s adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals but when the tide went out we saw some devastating lows like the repeated attacks on Planned Parenthood, threatening women’s health and rights. Next year we hope we encounter fewer choppy seas -- just smooth sailing. In the meantime, check out our list of the most remarkable moments for population, gender and the environment from 2015.

1. COP21
Rising sea levels, droughts, floods, and extreme weather are taking a toll on women, families, and communities all over the world. As thousands of negotiators and advocates converged in Paris in December to discuss our pathway forward on climate change at the United Nations Foundation Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the world was watching. Activists at COP21 and around the world called for more than a clean energy future, they called for an equitable clean energy future, one that works for those who experience the most hardships from climate disruption: women, indigenous communities, people of color, and workers. The UNFCCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognises family planning as a climate adaptation strategy. This year, in Paris, where the penultimate decision was signed, human rights and gender rights were finally seen in the approved text. 

2. The Sustainable Development Goals
As the Millennium Development Goals sunset at the end of 2015, UN member states were hard at work for the past two years to establish the next set of goals. What they came up with, the Sustainable Development Goals, puts environmental conservation side-by-side with poverty alleviation. These goals integrated solutions for a sustainable future, including key pieces like gender equality, women’s reproductive health and rights, and sustainable consumption and production, all in congruence with climate adaption.

3. The Clean Power Plan
In August, President Obama announced the Clean Power Plan – the biggest single step the U.S. has taken to tackle the climate crisis and strengthen the fast-growing trend toward cleaner American energy. Shaped by years of public engagement, the final Clean Power Plan sets the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from existing U.S. power plants. We know that dirty energy has a direct effect on our health, particularly women’s health, and we are thrilled to see this plan advance the health of women nationwide.   

4. Votes to Defund Planned Parenthood
In July, illegal and misleading video footage about Planned Parenthood resulted in outrageous statements from politicians, a vote to defund the organization, and toxic rhetoric that has been pointed to as a cause of the tragic act of violence in Colorado. The Sierra Club is proud to stand with Planned Parenthood because we need a world where every person has a good quality of life, with access to education, basic and reproductive health care, and economic and social opportunities; a world where women participate equally in every facet of life; a world where human beings live in harmony with nature and protect it.

5. The Green Climate Fund
Gender matters in the fight for clean energy. Women are more than just vulnerable to climate change, they are important actors in addressing solutions. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) recognizes this important fact. In March, GCF which provides developing countries with aide to limit their emissions and tackle the climate crisis, became the first multilateral climate fund to put in place a gender policy and action plan.  With this action plan, the GCF is the first fund to mandate the integration of gender‐based perspectives from the outset of its operations and initiatives. In November, the plan was put into action when GCF approved its first eight investments, all with a gender lense, totaling $168 million in funding.

6. U.S. Government Recognition of Sexual Rights
In September, at the UN Women Executive Board meeting, the U.S. government for the first time ever accepted and used the terms "sexual and reproductive health and rights" and "sexual rights." By using these terms, the U.S. government recognizes that the human rights of women include include the right for women to have control over and decide freely on matters related to their sexuality, including reproductive health, all without coercion, discrimination or violence. This recognition promotes equality, health, and the environment.  

7. Women Allowed in Combat
Gender equity in a very male-dominated environment is nowhere more apparent than in the U.S. military. But with the announcement women will be able to hold positions and jobs within all combat units of the military, it just got a little more equal.

8. Power Africa
Power Africa, a program of USAID(a lead U.S. government agency that works to end extreme global poverty), launched Women in African Power, a network dedicated to advancing the role and representation of women within the energy sector in Africa. Like GCF, USAID recognizes that when equipped with equality -- with the necessary tools like access to energy, reproductive health care, family planning and education --  women across the world are the best bet in solving the climate crisis.

9. Cardinal Declaration on Birth Control and Climate
The Catholic Church made waves this year several times, the first when Pope Francis released his Encyclical calling for moral action on climate. But just this month, Cardinal Peter Turkson, the Pope's leading adviser on climate issues, suggested that family planning could help alleviate the worst effects of climate disruption. With a moral obligation to act on climate, Cardinal Turkson recognizes that the fight for climate justice and the fight for women’s health are deeply connected. Women with options about childbearing have better chances for raising healthier families, have greater access to education, and in turn foster a healthier, more thriving environment