Exploring the outcomes of the 28th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), Dubai, December 2023.

Humanity is at a crossroads for reducing carbon emissions to secure the climate. At COP28 women played a significant role in bringing greater ambition to the fore. And the international women's movement around climate action is gathering strength with new allies in the Global North and South, and increased advocacy for the interconnections of climate change, human rights, food and water security, biodiversity and demilitarisation. COP28 culminated in an international agreement to ‘transition away from fossil fuels’ (‘UAE Consensus’). This was heralded as ‘historic’ on the one hand and too weak on the other.

Meanwhile, while the conference resolved to ‘drive gender-responsive just transitions, which strengthen all women’s and girls’ leadership and meaningful participation’, of the 133 world leaders who attended the conference, only 15 were women and only 38% of the negotiating teams from participating countries were women.

In this event WCC Founder, Dr Janet Salisbury was in conversation with Mamta Borgoyary, Executive Director of She Changes Climate (whose advocacy brought the need for a phase-out of fossil fuels to the fore at COP28); Angelica Mantikas, a youth advocate with the Australian delegation and coordinator of the Oceania Climate Stories project; Tishiko King, a proud Kulkalaig woman from the Torres Straits and Our Islands Our Home campaigner; Sarah Ransom, General Manager, Australian Water Initiative; and others (TBC). Together they will examine the ups and downs of the conference, the outcomes and the next steps for the women's movement.

Our popular Women's Climate Conversations online series create a space for open conversations among women to explore feminist perspectives on climate change and build community around women's voices and leadership.

This event was presented in association with the National Sustainable Living Festival 2024 and Community Radio 3CR 'Earth Matters'.

In the media:

• This conversation was released as a podcast by 3CR Radical Radio

• WCC intern and Griffith Uni student, Kayla Neville, wrote a piece for BroadAgenda about the event

Meet our conversationalists:

Mamta Borgoyary is a development professional and a trained economist. She is a Co-Director of She Changes Climate, an organisation committed to promote gender parity and women leadership in climate decision making.  In this role she leads organisation development and women empowerment-global south.

Mamta has an extensive background spanning over 27 years in diverse fields including health, education, water and sanitation, rural livelihoods, and natural resource management and environmental intersectionality in climate justice. She has facilitated more than 5000 women from vulnerable backgrounds to actively run their own small-scale businesses, while more than 300 women farmers have received professional training to practice agriculture proficiently. She has also successfully led several ground-breaking initiatives addressing human rights concerns.

An alumna of the prestigious International Visitor Leaders Program of the US State Department and the Common Purpose January Program, Mamta was recently honoured by Women Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 10 women leaders of 2023 in India.

Angelica Mantikas is a first-generation Greek-Australian. Her strong connection to her island, culture, and family traditions have led to a passion to fight for the natural world and the stable climate on which it relies to thrive.

Angelica is a board member and project lead for Australian Youth For International Climate Engagement Incorporated (AYFICE). As part of her role, she has founded the inaugural Oceania Climate Stories project - a publication compiling the perspectives, stories, experiences, and voices of youth from across the continent to bridge the gap between local realities and high-level decision-making spaces.

Along with other AYFICE colleagues, Angelica attended COP28 and presented the Oceania Climate Stories publication at the Australia Pavilion. She will also coordinate a Youth Stakeholder Roundtable series at the Monash Pavilion, which brought together youth from across Oceania to plan a way forward in pushing for stronger climate action.

Tishiko King is a proud Kulkalaig woman from the Island of Masig and Badugal of Themu Clan in the Torres Straits and is a Climate Advocate. In addition to her advocacy in climate, Tish works with the Philanthropic sector to redistribute wealth back into First Nations communities for economic justice and self-determination. Based in Naarm/Melbourne, Tish is spirited about sharing culture and amplifying social inequality and the rights of First Nations people.

With studies in Ocean Science, lived experiences in the mineral and exploration industry, Tish continues to be a part of grassroots organisations, supporting the Our Islands Our Home campaign led by Torres Strait Island people and plays a role in advocating for Torres Strait Island Climate Justice.

Collaboratively working with like minded folks to shift the dial, Tish is a member of the Australian Museum Climate Solutions Centre Advisory Group and current Board Director for Divers for Climate.

Sarah Ransom holds a Masters in Public and International Law, Bachelors of Law (Hons) and Asian Studies (Chinese) and is an accredited Partnership Broker. She is a former Australian diplomat with a background in international development with DFAT, AusAID, the Asian Development Bank and in the UN system.

She is currently (since 2022) the General Manager of the Australian Water Partnership, which is part of eWater Group. Her background is in managing programs on governance, gender and community, and civil society engagement, and she has advised government on peacebuilding, human rights and development policy.