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The Diversity Gap
The Diversity Gap – Closing the diversity gap by bringing a wider range of people and perspectives into climate processes.
Closing the diversity gap in climate action is essential for the sustainable, equitable and just transition of energy systems and action to adapt to climate change. It is often marginalized groups who are most affected by climate change or the introduction of new technologies, yet these same groups are frequently absent from decision making processes and technology development. As a result, both their needs and priorities often go unrecognized. This exclusion can result in the exacerbation of existing inequalities, less effective policies and technologies, as well as missed opportunities for innovation and locally relevant solutions.
Collective intelligence initiatives are starting to close this gap by deploying more accessible technologies to include historically marginalized communities, like Indigenous Peoples, to bring forward their contribution to the management of natural resources. They often involve people closest to the problem generating new data and validation exercises to address biases in existing climate datasets. Climate innovation challenges that develop new solutions for issues like heat shock in cities or sustainable agriculture, foreground a diversity of contributions and set inclusive eligibility criteria to ensure that new technologies serve more diverse needs.
