Commitments towards gender inclusion
Acknowledged as a crucial pillar in sustainability, gender equality played a significant role during day 9 of COP26. Designated ‘Gender, Science and Innovation Day’, day 9 witnessed many countries make commitments to ensure and advance gender inclusion as well as address gender gaps.
Canada vowed that 80% of its $5.3 billion climate investments over the next five years will target gender equality development.
Germany introduced a new Gender Strategy under its International Climate Initiative (IKI) committed to gender-transformative approaches in international climate and biodiversity cooperation.
The UK will aid in addressing gender inequality and climate change utilizing a £165 million fund.
USA announces new funding for gender-responsive climate programming. Included in this US lead initiative is a $3 million investment to assist women farmers in East Africa to adjust to the impacts of climate change. Moreover, it involves a $14 million fund of the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund to advance women leadership roles in climate action and green industries.
Bolivia committed to promote women leadership positions with a focus on indigenous, Afro-Bolivian, community and rural women established through their engagement and participation in sustainable development projects, while also working alongside UN Women.

Countries agree to make progress on climate innovation
Coinciding with ‘Gender, Science and Innovation Day’ a multitude of initiatives launched on day 9 will advance collaborative efforts between organizations, governments, and civil society to guarantee continued scientific and innovative advancement while meeting country specific and global goals.

A total of 47 countries, 42 of which are responsible for over a third of global healthcare emissions, have committed to building health systems curated to withstand the impacts of climate change while also being sustainable and low carbon. Significantly, 12 of the 47 countries are making headway to reach net zero no later than 2050.

Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister urges world leaders to address climate change
During his summit address, Simon Kofe, Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister urges leaders to address climate change. He shares, “we want the big emitters to take action in addressing climate change.” As his nation faces increasing climate threats, Kofe makes an impact as he unconventionally and compellingly delivers his speech whilst submerged knee-deep in sea water. Kofe reveals, “where I was standing and filming, as you can see behind me, there’s that concrete base that was actually built by the Americans during World War Two. As you can imagine, this base used to be on land and it’s now in the middle of the sea, about 20 or 30 metres from the land. So we are experiencing land erosion. Certain parts of the island are underwater during high tide. These are just a few examples of the threats that we are facing.”