Gender Equity Critical to Solving Climate Change: Women in Climate Tech Announces International TECFD Team

WAKE FOREST, N.C., August 11, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Women in Climate Tech, a group empowering the voices of women and non-binary professionals in climate tech, announced today a global team of talent selected to embed equity into climate-related financial disclosures.

The team of women—chosen through a global application process—comprises sustainability, energy, and resilience experts, analysts, and researchers at multinational corporations, consultancies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. As the Task Force for Equity in Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, or TECFD, they will:

1. Improve understanding of the connection between climate change and gender equity through enhanced disclosure;
2. Underscore risks facing net-zero and resilience commitments resulting from gender inequity at all levels; and
3. Showcase opportunities arising from addressing this inequity and the solutions to address climate change.

Initially, the program (formerly known as the TCFDW) will focus on gender equity. Later phases will build on this work to include a broader look at equity as a whole, developing a toolkit for use by businesses and governments.

The group is organized into teams aligned with the four core pillars of the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) framework and will research the interplay of gender equity and climate risks and opportunities. A team will then present at The Nest Summit during Climate Week NYC in September.

“Climate and equity are inextricably linked,” says Jamie Alexander, Director of Drawdown Labs at Project Drawdown, and a participant in the TECFD program. “For example, we know gender equity is a climate solutions multiplier. So it's essential to bake equity into work underway, by companies and governments, to address climate risk.”

“The concept of climate-related financial disclosure has been game-changing—a tool for organizations to measure and manage impacts from climate change—but an emerging challenge is its potential to lead to divestment, which can be catastrophic for underserved, frontline populations,” said Emily Wasley, Practice Leader, Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change, at WSP USA, a sponsor of the TECFD program.

“Through the TECFD, we aim to show that divestment may be counterproductive to net-zero commitments and that equity —embedded throughout an organization, from governance to supply chain—can produce beneficial outcomes for both business and climate action,” Wasley added.

“The UN Secretary-General called this week’s IPCC's climate change report 'code red for humanity.' We need fresh and more diverse leadership that brings more impactful practice, first-hand experience, and empathy for those most affected,” said Tanya Barham, CEO and Founder of Community Energy Labs, and a member of the TECFD program.

“The cleantech and climate tech communities are overwhelmingly homogenous despite decades of studies showing the positive amplifier effect that diversity provides for innovation and results,” continued Barham. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It is beyond time for diversity, in all its forms.”

To support these efforts, please go to https://womeninclimatetech.org/support-our-work/

About Women in Climate Tech (WiCT)

Women in Climate Tech empowers and amplifies the voices of women, and non-binary individuals, in climate tech, working to solve the biggest challenge of our time. Its members include engineers, executives, communicators, policy specialists, investors, and business leaders worldwide, all working to combat climate change.

About WSP USA

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, sustainability consultants and strategic advisors. WSP designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 12,000 employees in 200 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper. wsp.com