TACKLING climate change effectively requires difficult decisions and changes to how we live and work. It also requires that we draw on the ingenuity and talent of all within society to develop and implement effective solutions.

Unless we ensure that the opportunities enabled by the green transition are open to all, we will not create sufficient incentives for societies to make the tough choices or provide the political mandate needed to effect major and rapid change. We will also forgo the potential for innovation, ideas and the development of effective solutions that come if everyone has a stake in the transformation. A greener future can only be achieved if it is also a more equal one.

Women are key economic actors. As business leaders, investors, employees and customers, they play a vital role in shaping the way that markets and societies behave. Research suggests that firms with greater gender diversity in their management reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by about 5 per cent more than firms with predominantly male managers. Banks with more women on their boards tend to direct greater shares of finance towards sustainable investments. And countries with a higher representation of women in their parliaments are more likely to ratify international environment treaties.