Climate finance and the loss and damage fund have been some of the most vigorously debated topics linked to climate change in recent years. Climate finance “refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change” (United Nations Climate Change, 2023). It is by no means a new topic of discussion or a new idea as it has been part of the international climate discourse since the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement. The climate finance movement has, over the past few decades been championed by those nations who have contributed the least to climate change, whilst experiencing its worst effects without possessing the necessary financial capital to bolster their resilience or rebuild in the wake of disasters (United Nations Climate Change, 2023).

The gendered aspects of climate change are often discussed by international organizations, policy makers and researchers and yet there is a clear chasm between recognizing the disproportionate effect climate change has on women and girls versus implementing and seeing through policies or actions which would help to close this gap.

Change. There is nothing more intrinsic to the existence of humanity and the planet we live on as change. Yet, such a short word conveys not only that strange and unsettling mixture of emotions one feels when hearing it but is also used to translate into language the way time interacts with human society and the natural world. Today, we face change on an unprecedented scale, but this change is not one we can afford to be fearful of, nor can we afford ourselves the time to become accustomed to such rapid changes. Instead, we must be bold, we must take action and we must embrace changes in every facet of our lives, from the food on our plates, to the way that we travel, and to the items we pick off the shelves. In governance and policy, the changes will need to be yet more extensive with restructuring required at every level and in every sector to ensure that our planet has a future.