Reaffirming Gender Equality and Climate Change at Glasgow — The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs

Dec 9

Dec 9 Reaffirming Gender Equality and Climate Change at Glasgow

By Carmen Arias

Why should gender equality be included in climate negotiations? This is a question that I have heard many times inside and outside of negotiation rooms at UN climate conferences (COPs). Such a query indicates that the inclusion of a gender perspective in the COP process has not been an easily realized task. To me, the answer to this question is quite simple: because it is a matter of justice and a matter of rights. Women play an important role in the adoption of measures to combat and prevent the effects of climate change, and they need to actively participate, be represented, and be heard in the negotiations. This is particularly salient as women and girls are most affected by the adverse effects of climate change.

The advancement of gender equality in the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has progressed gradually. Parties have moved beyond an approach focused on promoting balanced representation for women towards one that strives to include a gendered perspective in the elaboration and implementation of all climate policies. In 2012 in Doha, Parties adopted an agreement to improve women’s participation and achieve gender balance in the Convention bodies. In 2014, COP20 adopted the two-year Lima work program on gender (LWPG) with the aim of promoting gender balance and achieving gender-responsive climate policy. The LWPG called for mainstreaming gender considerations in aspects of the Convention such as mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation; ensuring gender equality throughout the UNFCCC system; enhancing national capacities through the appointment of national focal points for gender; and improving women leadership in climate measures.

One year later, the Paris Agreement established in the eleventh paragraph of the preamble that Parties should consider gender equality and empowerment of women in their climate actions. In 2017, for the first time, a two-year Gender Action Plan (GAP) was adopted. In 2019, the LWPG and the GAP were renewed for a period of five years (until 2024).

Almost seven years after the adoption of the LWPG and the Paris Agreement, remarkable advancements have been made in the implementation of national climate policies. For instance, the revised synthesis report on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), prepared by the Secretariat of the UNFCCC Convention, recognizes that “most Parties provided information related to gender in their NDCs and some affirmed that they will take gender into account in implementing them (…) few Parties explicitly considered other genders.” The report stated that 64% of the NDCs submitted in the initial round following the Paris Agreement do not mention gender, while only 14% of updated NDCs fail to include it. In the same vein, an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) study of these revised NDCs (submitted until September 2021) found that women are characterized variously as stakeholders (43%), vulnerable parties (34%), beneficiaries (27%), and as agents of change (18%), underscoring that there is a shift from traditional discourse’s consideration of women as vulnerable towards a narrative that recognizes women as active participants in climate action and solutions.

Parties recognized in 2019 that achieving the full, meaningful, and equal participation and leadership of women in all aspects of the UNFCCC process is vital for achieving long-term climate goals. However, in terms of participation and representation, there are still important gaps that need to be tackled to fulfill that mandate. According to the UNFCCC report on gender composition, women occupied only 33% of all constituted bodies in 2021. The report notes that in terms of virtual participation, 51% of Party delegations were men. Nevertheless, men represented 60% of the delegates who spoke in plenaries and 63% of the total speaking time in plenaries.

Data shows that we still need to take ambitious measures in terms of gender equality in the UNFCCC process. In this regard, the adopted decision on gender at COP26 in Glasgow will contribute to providing criteria for evaluating progress in different areas of the GAP. It requests the Parties, the entities of the United Nations system, and other actors to assess the advancements made in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls with the objective of identifying areas of improvement and further work to be undertaken while considering the multidimensional impacts of the pandemic on progress made so far. Likewise, one of the aspects that the decision stresses is the importance of improving the representation and leadership of women and recognizes the challenges identified in promoting full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in virtual forums. The agreement calls on Parties to be more explicit about gender-responsiveness of climate finance, facilitating access to climate finance for grassroots women’s organizations, as well as for indigenous peoples and local communities. Both aspects were also included in paragraph 68 of the Glasgow Climate Pact, which encourages the increase of women’s participation and gender-responsive implementation of climate targets.

The text adopted in Glasgow is not only a procedural text with a list of mandates to Parties and the Secretariat. It is an important piece to continue building upon the gender framework existing under the UNFCCC and the national capacities of their member states. This is particularly appropriate in these pandemic times where it is urgent to ensure that recovery measures are green, sustainable, and inclusive. I am convinced that these results will inspire the discussions that will take place at the meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March, the central theme of which is achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change and environmental and disaster risk reduction. In this regard, COP26 in Glasgow has been an opportunity to reaffirm that just climate action should employ a human rights and gender equality approach to ensure participation, recognition and inclusion of all women and their diverse needs and priorities both in negotiations and in national-level implementation. Only then will we achieve the ambitious and equitable climate policies we need to address this crisis.