1
00:00:00,944 --> 00:00:05,470
There are two powerful phenomena
unfolding on earth:

2
00:00:06,111 --> 00:00:08,289
the rise of global warming

3
00:00:08,313 --> 00:00:10,807
and the rise of women and girls.

4
00:00:11,690 --> 00:00:14,974
The link between them is often overlooked,

5
00:00:14,998 --> 00:00:19,821
but gender equity is a key answer
to our planetary challenge.

6
00:00:20,486 --> 00:00:21,800
Let me explain.

7
00:00:22,857 --> 00:00:24,096
For the last few years,

8
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,691
I have been working on an effort
called "Project Drawdown."

9
00:00:28,323 --> 00:00:31,301
Our team has scoured humanity's wisdom

10
00:00:31,325 --> 00:00:37,317
for solutions to draw down
heat-trapping, climate-changing emissions

11
00:00:37,341 --> 00:00:39,103
in the atmosphere --

12
00:00:39,127 --> 00:00:43,212
not "someday, maybe,
if we're lucky" solutions,

13
00:00:43,236 --> 00:00:46,770
the 80 best practices and technologies

14
00:00:46,794 --> 00:00:48,849
already in hand:

15
00:00:48,873 --> 00:00:53,819
clean, renewable energy,
including solar and wind;

16
00:00:54,609 --> 00:00:58,486
green buildings, both new and retrofitted;

17
00:00:59,542 --> 00:01:03,244
efficient transportation
from Brazil to China;

18
00:01:03,902 --> 00:01:09,482
thriving ecosystems through
protection and restoration;

19
00:01:09,506 --> 00:01:13,872
reducing waste and reclaiming its value;

20
00:01:13,896 --> 00:01:18,449
growing food in good ways
that regenerate soil;

21
00:01:19,066 --> 00:01:23,875
shifting diets to less meat, more plants;

22
00:01:24,426 --> 00:01:27,804
and equity for women and girls.

23
00:01:28,524 --> 00:01:32,029
Gender and climate
are inextricably linked.

24
00:01:32,881 --> 00:01:37,012
Drawing down emissions
depends on rising up.

25
00:01:38,980 --> 00:01:40,572
First, a bit of context.

26
00:01:41,492 --> 00:01:45,919
We are in a situation of urgency,
severity and scope

27
00:01:45,943 --> 00:01:48,495
never before faced by humankind.

28
00:01:49,249 --> 00:01:54,416
So far, our response isn't
anywhere close to adequate.

29
00:01:55,762 --> 00:01:57,463
But you already know that.

30
00:01:58,155 --> 00:02:00,509
You know it in your gut,

31
00:02:00,533 --> 00:02:02,233
in your bones.

32
00:02:03,117 --> 00:02:06,246
We are each part
of the planet's living systems,

33
00:02:06,270 --> 00:02:11,505
knitted together with almost
7.7 billion human beings

34
00:02:11,529 --> 00:02:15,001
and 1.8 million known species.

35
00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,795
We can feel the connections between us.

36
00:02:19,712 --> 00:02:21,796
We can feel the brokenness

37
00:02:21,820 --> 00:02:23,992
and the closing window to heal it.

38
00:02:25,028 --> 00:02:27,818
This earth, our home,

39
00:02:28,615 --> 00:02:33,047
is telling us that a better way of being
must emerge, and fast.

40
00:02:35,504 --> 00:02:38,487
In my experience, to have eyes wide open

41
00:02:38,511 --> 00:02:40,800
is to hold a broken heart every day.

42
00:02:41,617 --> 00:02:43,930
It's a grief that I rarely speak,

43
00:02:44,758 --> 00:02:48,392
though my work calls
on the power of voice.

44
00:02:50,256 --> 00:02:55,589
I remind myself that the heart
can simply break, or it can break open.

45
00:02:56,672 --> 00:03:01,894
A broken-open heart is awake
and alive and calls for action.

46
00:03:02,782 --> 00:03:05,633
It is regenerative, like nature,

47
00:03:06,562 --> 00:03:09,520
reclaiming ruined ground, growing anew.

48
00:03:10,351 --> 00:03:14,091
Life moves inexorably toward more life,

49
00:03:14,115 --> 00:03:15,723
toward healing,

50
00:03:15,747 --> 00:03:17,027
toward wholeness.

51
00:03:17,734 --> 00:03:20,282
That's a fundamental ecological truth.

52
00:03:21,001 --> 00:03:23,471
And we, all of us,

53
00:03:24,222 --> 00:03:26,107
we are life force.

54
00:03:27,849 --> 00:03:32,049
On the face of it, the primary link
between women, girls and a warming world

55
00:03:32,073 --> 00:03:33,829
is not life but death.

56
00:03:34,813 --> 00:03:39,776
Awareness is growing that climate impacts
hit women and girls hardest,

57
00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:41,800
given existing vulnerabilities.

58
00:03:42,569 --> 00:03:44,572
There is greater risk of displacement,

59
00:03:45,123 --> 00:03:48,988
higher odds of being injured
or killed during a natural disaster.

60
00:03:49,944 --> 00:03:53,002
Prolonged drought
can precipitate early marriage

61
00:03:53,026 --> 00:03:55,418
as families contend with scarcity.

62
00:03:56,340 --> 00:03:59,472
Floods can force last-resort prostitution

63
00:03:59,496 --> 00:04:02,005
as women struggle to make ends meet.

64
00:04:02,029 --> 00:04:04,504
The list goes on and goes wide.

65
00:04:05,262 --> 00:04:08,697
These dynamics are most acute
under conditions of poverty,

66
00:04:08,721 --> 00:04:11,229
from New Orleans to Nairobi.

67
00:04:12,907 --> 00:04:15,169
Too often, the story ends here.

68
00:04:15,193 --> 00:04:16,382
But not today.

69
00:04:17,177 --> 00:04:20,204
Another empowering truth begs to be seen.

70
00:04:20,228 --> 00:04:23,500
If we gain ground on gender equity,

71
00:04:23,524 --> 00:04:27,210
we also gain ground
on addressing global warming.

72
00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:31,945
This connection comes to light
in three key areas,

73
00:04:31,969 --> 00:04:36,112
three areas where we can secure
the rights of women and girls,

74
00:04:36,136 --> 00:04:37,742
shore up resilience

75
00:04:37,766 --> 00:04:40,566
and avert emissions at the same time.

76
00:04:41,268 --> 00:04:44,883
Women are the primary
farmers of the world.

77
00:04:45,449 --> 00:04:49,128
They produce 60 to 80 percent
of food in lower-income countries,

78
00:04:49,152 --> 00:04:52,282
often operating on fewer than five acres.

79
00:04:52,306 --> 00:04:54,882
That's what the term "smallholder" means.

80
00:04:55,705 --> 00:05:00,801
Compared with men, women smallholders
have less access to resources,

81
00:05:00,825 --> 00:05:03,023
including land rights,

82
00:05:03,047 --> 00:05:05,432
credit and capital, training,

83
00:05:05,456 --> 00:05:06,999
tools and technology.

84
00:05:07,510 --> 00:05:10,287
They farm as capably
and efficiently as men,

85
00:05:11,088 --> 00:05:14,818
but this well-documented disparity
in resources and rights

86
00:05:14,842 --> 00:05:18,785
means women produce less food
on the same amount of land.

87
00:05:19,439 --> 00:05:20,950
Close those gaps,

88
00:05:21,702 --> 00:05:25,041
and farm yields rise by 20 to 30 percent.

89
00:05:25,065 --> 00:05:30,793
That means 20 to 30 percent more food
from the same garden or the same field.

90
00:05:31,857 --> 00:05:35,925
The implications for hunger,
for health, for household income --

91
00:05:35,949 --> 00:05:37,173
they're obvious.

92
00:05:37,580 --> 00:05:39,276
Let's follow the thread to climate.

93
00:05:41,061 --> 00:05:43,919
We humans need land to grow food.

94
00:05:44,836 --> 00:05:48,183
Unfortunately, forests are often
cleared to supply it,

95
00:05:48,207 --> 00:05:51,198
and that causes emissions
from deforestation.

96
00:05:51,866 --> 00:05:55,401
But if existing farms produce enough food,

97
00:05:56,001 --> 00:05:58,250
forests are less likely to be lost.

98
00:05:58,274 --> 00:05:59,998
So there's a ripple effect.

99
00:06:00,755 --> 00:06:02,948
Support women smallholders,

100
00:06:02,972 --> 00:06:05,066
realize higher yields,

101
00:06:05,090 --> 00:06:06,712
avoid deforestation

102
00:06:06,736 --> 00:06:10,925
and sustain the life-giving
power of forests.

103
00:06:10,949 --> 00:06:14,556
Project Drawdown estimates
that addressing inequity in agriculture

104
00:06:14,580 --> 00:06:19,790
could prevent two billion tons
of emissions between now and 2050.

105
00:06:20,445 --> 00:06:24,708
That's on par with the impact
household recycling can have globally.

106
00:06:25,765 --> 00:06:28,868
Addressing this inequity
can also help women cope

107
00:06:28,892 --> 00:06:31,313
with the challenges of growing food

108
00:06:31,337 --> 00:06:33,182
as the climate changes.

109
00:06:34,193 --> 00:06:37,018
There is life force in cultivation.

110
00:06:37,947 --> 00:06:39,586
At last count,

111
00:06:39,610 --> 00:06:44,639
130 million girls are still denied
their basic right to attend school.

112
00:06:45,234 --> 00:06:48,345
Gaps are greatest
in secondary school classrooms.

113
00:06:48,979 --> 00:06:52,887
Too many girls are missing
a vital foundation for life.

114
00:06:53,599 --> 00:06:57,418
Education means better health
for women and their children,

115
00:06:57,989 --> 00:06:59,601
better financial security,

116
00:07:00,172 --> 00:07:03,389
greater agency at home and in society,

117
00:07:04,216 --> 00:07:07,806
more capacity to navigate
a climate-changing world.

118
00:07:08,614 --> 00:07:13,599
Education can mean options,
adaptability, strength.

119
00:07:14,177 --> 00:07:16,593
It can also mean lower emissions.

120
00:07:17,433 --> 00:07:19,018
For a variety of reasons,

121
00:07:19,042 --> 00:07:21,879
when we have more years of education,

122
00:07:21,903 --> 00:07:24,511
we typically choose to marry later

123
00:07:24,535 --> 00:07:26,210
and to have fewer children.

124
00:07:26,234 --> 00:07:29,255
So our families end up being smaller.

125
00:07:29,631 --> 00:07:34,717
What happens at the individual level
adds up across the world and over time.

126
00:07:34,741 --> 00:07:36,946
One by one by one,

127
00:07:36,970 --> 00:07:42,270
the right to go to school impacts
how many human beings live on this planet

128
00:07:42,294 --> 00:07:44,573
and impacts its living systems.

129
00:07:45,500 --> 00:07:48,240
That's not why girls should be educated.

130
00:07:48,991 --> 00:07:50,886
It's one meaningful outcome.

131
00:07:52,354 --> 00:07:54,946
Education is one side of a coin.

132
00:07:54,970 --> 00:07:56,699
The other is family planning,

133
00:07:57,505 --> 00:08:02,112
access to high-quality,
voluntary reproductive health care.

134
00:08:03,169 --> 00:08:05,775
To have children by choice
rather than chance

135
00:08:05,799 --> 00:08:08,068
is a matter of autonomy and dignity.

136
00:08:09,478 --> 00:08:12,215
Yet in the US,

137
00:08:12,239 --> 00:08:15,103
45 percent of pregnancies are unintended.

138
00:08:15,834 --> 00:08:19,212
Two hundred and fourteen million women
in lower-income countries

139
00:08:19,236 --> 00:08:22,559
say they want to decide whether
and when to become pregnant

140
00:08:22,583 --> 00:08:24,610
but aren't using contraception.

141
00:08:24,634 --> 00:08:26,472
Listening to women's needs,

142
00:08:26,496 --> 00:08:28,525
addressing those needs,

143
00:08:28,549 --> 00:08:30,999
advancing equity and well-being:

144
00:08:31,023 --> 00:08:34,426
those must be the aims
of family planning, period.

145
00:08:35,096 --> 00:08:37,758
Curbing the growth of our human population

146
00:08:37,782 --> 00:08:40,573
is a side effect, though a potent one.

147
00:08:41,255 --> 00:08:46,503
It could dramatically reduce demand
for food, transportation, electricity,

148
00:08:46,527 --> 00:08:49,411
buildings, goods and all the rest,

149
00:08:49,435 --> 00:08:51,481
thereby reducing emissions.

150
00:08:52,170 --> 00:08:56,391
Close the gaps on access
to education and family planning,

151
00:08:56,415 --> 00:09:01,450
and by mid-century, we may find
one billion fewer people inhabiting earth

152
00:09:01,474 --> 00:09:03,298
than we would if we do nothing more.

153
00:09:04,450 --> 00:09:06,555
According to Project Drawdown,

154
00:09:06,579 --> 00:09:09,345
one billion fewer people
could mean we avoid

155
00:09:09,369 --> 00:09:13,272
nearly 120 billion tons of emissions.

156
00:09:13,685 --> 00:09:15,362
At that level of impact,

157
00:09:15,386 --> 00:09:20,742
gender equity is a top solution
to restore a climate fit for life.

158
00:09:21,651 --> 00:09:23,449
At that level of impact,

159
00:09:23,473 --> 00:09:27,070
gender equity is on par with wind turbines

160
00:09:27,094 --> 00:09:29,862
and solar panels and forests.

161
00:09:31,020 --> 00:09:33,370
There is life force in learning

162
00:09:33,394 --> 00:09:35,862
and life force in choice.

163
00:09:37,005 --> 00:09:38,494
Now, let me be clear:

164
00:09:38,518 --> 00:09:42,382
this does not mean women and girls
are responsible for fixing everything.

165
00:09:42,406 --> 00:09:44,022
(Laughter)

166
00:09:44,046 --> 00:09:45,891
Though we probably will.

167
00:09:45,915 --> 00:09:47,281
(Laughter)

168
00:09:47,305 --> 00:09:51,617
(Applause)

169
00:09:52,363 --> 00:09:57,487
Equity for women in agriculture,
education and family planning:

170
00:09:57,511 --> 00:10:01,344
these are solutions within a system
of drawdown solutions.

171
00:10:01,901 --> 00:10:05,470
Together, they comprise
a blueprint of possibility.

172
00:10:06,419 --> 00:10:08,753
And let me be even clearer about this:

173
00:10:09,404 --> 00:10:15,260
population cannot be seen in isolation
from production or consumption.

174
00:10:16,365 --> 00:10:20,378
Some segments of the human family
cause exponentially greater harm,

175
00:10:21,131 --> 00:10:23,974
while others suffer outsized injustice.

176
00:10:25,044 --> 00:10:26,469
The most affluent --

177
00:10:27,089 --> 00:10:28,744
we are the most accountable.

178
00:10:29,465 --> 00:10:31,877
We have the most to do.

179
00:10:34,496 --> 00:10:37,806
The gender-climate connection
extends beyond negative impacts

180
00:10:37,830 --> 00:10:40,008
and beyond powerful solutions.

181
00:10:40,438 --> 00:10:46,056
Women are vital voices
and agents for change on this planet,

182
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:51,104
and yet we're too often missing
or even barred from the proverbial table.

183
00:10:51,883 --> 00:10:54,712
We're too often ignored
or silenced when we speak.

184
00:10:54,736 --> 00:10:56,454
We are too often passed over

185
00:10:56,931 --> 00:10:59,712
when plans are laid or investments made.

186
00:11:00,526 --> 00:11:02,894
According to one analysis,

187
00:11:02,918 --> 00:11:06,750
just 0.2 percent of philanthropic funds

188
00:11:06,774 --> 00:11:09,591
go specifically towards women
and the environment,

189
00:11:10,228 --> 00:11:13,241
merely 110 million dollars globally,

190
00:11:13,972 --> 00:11:19,190
the sum spent by one man
on a single Basquiat painting last year.

191
00:11:20,911 --> 00:11:24,685
These dynamics are not only unjust,
they are setting us up for failure.

192
00:11:25,490 --> 00:11:28,582
To rapidly, radically reshape society,

193
00:11:28,606 --> 00:11:31,121
we need every solution and every solver,

194
00:11:32,186 --> 00:11:33,743
every mind,

195
00:11:33,767 --> 00:11:35,341
every bit of heart,

196
00:11:35,365 --> 00:11:37,048
every set of hands.

197
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,693
We often crave a simple call to action,

198
00:11:41,447 --> 00:11:44,650
but this challenge demands
more than a fact sheet

199
00:11:44,674 --> 00:11:46,350
and more than a checklist.

200
00:11:46,978 --> 00:11:50,128
We need to function
more like an ecosystem,

201
00:11:50,152 --> 00:11:52,543
finding strength in our diversity.

202
00:11:53,530 --> 00:11:55,681
You know what your superpowers are.

203
00:11:56,356 --> 00:12:02,420
You're an educator, farmer, healer,
creator, campaigner, wisdom-keeper.

204
00:12:03,456 --> 00:12:06,733
How might you link arms where you are

205
00:12:06,757 --> 00:12:08,509
to move solutions forward?

206
00:12:09,532 --> 00:12:12,460
There is one role I want to ask
that all of you play:

207
00:12:12,484 --> 00:12:14,151
the role of messenger.

208
00:12:15,341 --> 00:12:17,723
This is a time of great awakening.

209
00:12:18,507 --> 00:12:22,833
We need to break the silence
around the condition of our planet;

210
00:12:23,524 --> 00:12:28,143
move beyond manufactured debates
about climate science;

211
00:12:28,167 --> 00:12:29,999
share solutions;

212
00:12:31,038 --> 00:12:34,731
speak truth with a broken-open heart;

213
00:12:35,483 --> 00:12:40,795
teach that to address climate change,
we must make gender equity a reality,

214
00:12:40,819 --> 00:12:44,500
and in the face of
a seemingly impossible challenge,

215
00:12:44,524 --> 00:12:48,172
women and girls are
a fierce source of possibility.

216
00:12:50,307 --> 00:12:52,852
It is a magnificent thing to be alive

217
00:12:53,845 --> 00:12:56,746
in a moment that matters so much.

218
00:12:59,063 --> 00:13:00,274
This earth,

219
00:13:01,144 --> 00:13:02,361
our home,

220
00:13:03,940 --> 00:13:06,602
is calling for us to be bold,

221
00:13:08,142 --> 00:13:11,215
reminding us we are all
in this together --

222
00:13:11,907 --> 00:13:13,320
women, men,

223
00:13:13,344 --> 00:13:15,435
people of all gender identities,

224
00:13:15,459 --> 00:13:16,681
all beings.

225
00:13:17,964 --> 00:13:19,700
We are life force,

226
00:13:20,900 --> 00:13:22,148
one earth,

227
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:24,363
one chance.

228
00:13:25,182 --> 00:13:26,628
Let's seize it.

229
00:13:26,652 --> 00:13:28,082
Thank you.

230
00:13:28,106 --> 00:13:32,329
(Applause)