4 recommendations for the path towards COP27: gender equality and climate change
A gendered response to climate change is a critical part of my work as the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights and climate change. It is critical to promote gender-responsive climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, and to strengthen the voice of women and girls and their meaningful participation the international climate process as well as to ensure a prominent role for women and girls in decision-making and in climate action.
On 16 May 2022, I spoke at the Virtual Panel Discussion on gender equality and climate change organized by the Permanent Mission of Egypt in Geneva and UN Women. The Panel was an opportunity to make the link with the Agreed Conclusions of the recently concluded 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), which had as its priority theme: “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”. Moreover, the discussion at the Panel addressed the COP27 Presidency’s vision- which was initially elaborated through a paper that was launched on CSW66 - on how to ensure a just environmental transition for women.
Recently, there has been several work undertaken to address the direct relationship between gender equality and climate change.
- Commission on the Status of Women / UN Women Expert Group Meeting
In the purview of the Commission on the Status of Women, the report by the UN Women Expert Group Meeting noted that “there is a neglect of the critical links between gender equality, human rights, social equity and justice and climate change and environmental issues”. The report further noted that “women are disproportionately affected by climate change, environmental degradation and disasters, their risks are not innate, but rather produced and mediated by existing gender inequalities and discriminatory gender norms across societies”.
There is high prevalence of violence against women and girls and lack of access to justice, which worsen in climate and environmental crises and disasters. On that issue, I recently attended a forum organised by the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and there were many disturbing accounts of how climate change was creating greater incidences of violence against women.
Further conclusions of the report by UN Women Expert Group Meeting referred to:
- marginalization or exclusion of women and gender non-conforming peoples in national and local governance and decision making;
- a need to apply the principle of free, prior and informed consent to protect the rights and territories of colonized and indigenous peoples and local communities;
- a need to ensure rights-based, gender-responsive policy coherence between climate, environment and disaster risk reduction frameworks; and
- a need to create pathways and opportunities for women to enter skilled trades and jobs in the sustainable energy sector and women environmental human rights defenders, including indigenous women, are particularly vulnerable to rising threats and acts of gender-based violence.
2. Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC
At the Glasgow COP26, the Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC came forward with some recommendations. For instance, a recommendation was related to creating a specific financing facility to address loss and damage and to publish a Loss and Damage Gap Report with a strong gender focus. In addition, a recommendation was made to improve gender- and sex-disaggregated data collection and analysis around loss and damage.
3. Report on Gender, Climate and Security: Sustaining inclusive pace on the frontlines of climate change
The recent report by UN Women, UNEP, DPPA, UNDP on Sustaining inclusive peace on the frontlines of climate change referred to the need to ensure that gender considerations are appropriately reflected in debates and deliberations on emerging policy on climate-related security risks — not only to strengthen awareness and understanding of particular vulnerabilities, but also to highlight opportunities for leadership and inclusion of women and marginalized groups in decision-making processes.
4. Representation at COP
If we look at the a factsheet by WEDO, women made up 39 % of national delegations in 2019, compared to 32 % in 2009. The progress in creating gender balance at representation at COP is still very slow.
4. UNFCCC’s Lima work programme on gender and its Gender Action Plan
A decision was taken to review of the implementation of the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan (GAP) at the sixty-first session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation in November 2024. Before that, at the fifth-sixth session in June 2022, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation is asked to identify progress and further work to be undertaken, and to conduct an intermediate review of the progress of implementation of the activities contained in the gender action plan.
I welcome Egypt’s vision as the Presidency of COP27 and its briefing note on “Global Perspective: Women Environment and Climate Change” but it may need to be placed into a broader perspective on gender and to be formalised. In particular, there is an urgent need to enhance the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan. In this regard, I humbly suggest the following recommendations:
1. Strongly encourage the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) Chair to commence work on a review of the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan;
2. Strongly encourage the COP27 Presidency to lead the work in developing a revised Gender Action Plan (GAP) based on the recommendations of the Commission on the Status of Women;
3. To establish a consultative group of gender experts who represent international, national and local interests to assist in the revision of the Gender Action Plan (GAP); and
4. To present recommendations for a revised Gender Action Plan (GAP) for consideration by the COP at its 27th session.
