(C) U.S. State Dept This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Innovation Station Travels to Spain and Croatia [1] ['Aubrey R. Paris'] Date: 2024-05 An initiative of the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI), the Innovation Station amplifies women and girls developing creative, translatable solutions to climate-related challenges in their communities. In addition to a virtual event series, podcast, and newsletter, the initiative boasts a growing network of women and girls implementing their solutions and sharing best practices around the world. The United States is eager to partner with countries leading on the nexus of gender equality and climate change, as well as countries with robust opportunity for impact. For example, Spain is at the forefront of gender-climate action, while Croatia’s high rate of women and girls studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields suggests great potential for women’s climate leadership. As part of our efforts to implement the U.S. Strategy to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change on Women, I traveled to Madrid and Zagreb to brainstorm opportunities for strengthened gender-climate collaboration bilaterally and multilaterally, while simultaneously identifying new connections for S/GWI’s Innovation Station network. In a meeting at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), I learned how climate has been integrated into Spain’s Feminist Foreign Policy and associated action plan, as well as the country’s whole-of-government Strategic Plan for Gender Equality. Like the United States, Spain has made strides in breaking silos that have historically separated national policies pertaining to gender equality and climate action. The MFA commended the U.S. government’s efforts to address climate change in the context of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, including in the recent U.S. Strategy and National Action Plan on WPS. We are excited that Spain hopes to adopt a similar course of action when it updates its own WPS action plan. I later met with the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, where our conversation focused on efforts to integrate gender into United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes, including the annual climate change conference (COP). We discussed our reviews of the UNFCCC’s Gender Action Plan (GAP) and opportunities for GAP renegotiation at a future COP. Ultimately, we agreed that it has been encouraging to witness so many countries develop Climate Change Gender Action Plans and other gender-responsive climate strategies in the last few years. One morning, I had the opportunity to provide a gender-climate briefing to members of U.S. Embassy Madrid’s DEIA Council and Green Team. During my presentation, I shared a number of best practices for in-country action on this increasingly important theme, including engagement with local civil society organizations. It was exciting to end the day by meeting with one such organization, Ocean Born Foundation. I enjoyed learning about the foundation’s establishment of social enterprises related to the beverage and garment industries; profits are directed toward grants for ocean conservation organizations. Given the vast number of women innovators in the Innovation Station network who work in marine conservation and the circular economy, I knew I would make some fruitful introductions following our chat. It was Earth Day by the time I arrived in Croatia, and to celebrate I attended a WWF Adria event planting 1,000 fruit trees on the campus of University North. These young trees now represent the largest food forest in Croatia, and I was impressed by the school’s plan to task STEM students with caring for the forest as part of their coursework. I appreciated University North, WWF Adria, and their local partners’ commitment to educating students about sustainable food systems as part of their degree programs. Another emphasis of my time in Zagreb was women and energy. In a meeting with the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development’s energy directorate, I learned about the increasing potential for women’s employment in geothermal energy, as well as barriers Croatian women face in securing leadership roles in energy companies. During a subsequent meeting, the Association for Creating Sustainable Development (DOOR) underscored that women in Zagreb suffer disproportionately from energy poverty. Because women lack role models in the energy sector, DOOR is spearheading an online campaign to highlight women in energy globally. A visit to Croatia would not have been complete without discussing tourism, a vital industry supporting the country’s economy. To explore the complex intersection between tourism, conservation, and women’s leadership, I visited Lonjsko Polje Nature Park, a protected wetland on which domestic livestock depend. The park’s conservation team explained how climate change is impacting flood patterns, helping invasive species proliferate, impeding forest growth, and harming local pastoralist communities. The team reflected on the delicate balance between increasing park visitation and advancing conservation goals, and they emphasized the role of women as conservation scientists and activists. Throughout my time in Spain and Croatia, the need to bolster national and subnational action to combat the climate crisis was a recurring theme, as was the opportunity to increase collaboration on the gender-climate nexus. Women clearly have a leadership role to play in these efforts—in sectors ranging from agriculture to energy to tourism, and in bodies ranging from government, to non-profits, to the private sector. Upon returning home, I reflected on my learnings and made 30 introductions for Spanish and Croatian counterparts with women from our Innovation Station network. I am excited to continue our efforts to amplify women leading the way in creating a more equitable, sustainable future for us all. Thank you for having me, Spain and Croatia! Aubrey R. Paris, Ph.D., is the Senior Policy Advisor for Gender, Climate Change, and Innovation in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI), where she leads the Innovation Station initiative. Dr. Paris received her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Materials Science from Princeton University and B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Ursinus College. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.state.gov/the-innovation-station-travels-to-spain-and-croatia/?utm_source=dipnote&utm_medium=news_bar&utm_id=123 Published and (C) by U.S. State Dept Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/usstate/