The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Gender Climate Action Plan
By Ellen Salter
February 2021
Today, there is palpable evidence to show that climate change is happening. Extreme and unpredicted weather events are occurring globally, and at unprecedented rates. Catastrophic storms, severe drought and global sea level rise pose threats to humanity and increase and exacerbate vulnerabilities.
Whilst a global issue, it is important to note that climate change affects everyone, but the burdens are neither shared equally nor fairly. Research has shown that the world’s poorest, most marginalised, and those in existing vulnerabilities are often the most at risk. Women and girls often face higher risks in responding to natural hazards, experience a greater burden from the impacts of climate change, and are often excluded from climate action planning and decision-making.
In 2016, at the annual Conference of the Parties (COP22), important discussions centred on the role of gender and climate change. The following year, at COP23, UN Women drew attention to this relationship and advocated for gender equality and women’s empowerment in climate change and discourse actions.
In this article, I explore the role of gender at COP22 and COP23, the development of the Gender Action Plan for Climate Change and the future of gender inclusion within the climate change debate.
COP22, COP23 and the Role of Gender
Each year, since the adoption of the UNFCCC in 1992, the international community (comprised of world leaders, community groups, researchers, and civil society) convene to assess the progress in implementing the Convention and discuss priority issues regarding climate change. This meeting is known as the Conference of the Parities or, more informally, as COP.
In November 2016, COP22, the 22nd annual Conference of the Parties, took place in Morocco. The event was particularly important for discussions on the role of gender and women’s empowerment in the climate change. Following thorough discussions at COP22, the Parties requested a coherent gender action plan to support the implementation of gender-related mandates, discourse, and decision-making.
To enact upon this request, UN Women were invited to COP23 in Bonn, Germany. UN Women played a salient role in the development of the Gender Action Plan and shaped debate through hosting, co-organising and participating in a number of sessions to enhance the visibility of women in climate action.
The UNFCCC Gender Climate Action Plan
Throughout COP23, UN Women provided advisory to the Parties in the development of the Gender Action Plan. The aim of the Gender Action Plan is to ensure that women can influence climate change decisions, and that women and men are represented equally in all aspects of the UNFCCC, as a way to increase its effectiveness.
It is important to note the role of gender equality in the formation of the Plan and the emphasis on collaborative action between genders to combat climate change. The Plan outlines the importance of intersectionality and invites women from a range of backgrounds - local and indigenous peoples, and women from Small Island Developing States (amongst others) – to present perspectives from their lived experience.
“The Gender Action Plan is the culmination of two decades of efforts to integrate gender perspectives in climate negotiations. It will help practitioners and stakeholders leverage co-benefits between gender equality and climate action to achieve sustainable development”. - UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Yannick Glemarec
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The UNFCCC Gender Climate Action Plan – Priority Areas
Within the Plan, five priority areas summarise a route-map towards women’s visibility and gender equality within the climate change debate. Knowledge sharing is a key priority area with a strong focus on the importance of increasing knowledge and capacities of men and women through information exchange to ensure meaningful participation in the climate change debate.
The four other priority areas refer to assessing gendered-vulnerabilities to natural disasters, supporting women entrepreneurs and business owners in the just transition towards clean energy, supporting women in agricultural production, and enhancing climate-related financial resources that integrate gender priorities and reflect the needs of women and girls.
Monitoring Progress Against the Gender Action Plan
Importantly, the Gender Action Plan outlines an approach to monitoring the implementation of the gender-related decisions and success against the key priority areas. In November 2019, the first evaluation report on the progress of the Gender Action Plan was presented. Following ongoing review and success, an agreement was made at COP25 to enhance the work programme on gender and its gender action plan for climate change. Click here to find out more.
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As COP25 recognised, whilst international action towards enhancing the visibility of women and girls in the climate change debate has increased in recent years, we can and must do more. We must continue to recognise and account for the fact that climate change impacts can differ between gender groups and again still between different demographic groups. For instance, historical and spatial factors can pronounce climate-change related burdens for marginalised groups such as those in developing countries, the elderly, and those with existing vulnerabilities.
If we are to achieve gender equality within the climate discourse, we must build upon the Gender Action Plan and take individual and collective action to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment amongst wider human rights considerations.
You may also be interested in: An Introduction to the IPCC, The Inequalities of Climate Change