Gender Mandates in Climate Policy

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In the last few years, the UNFCCC – the only one out of three Rio Conventions that lacked mandates on women’s rights and gender equality from the outset – has made major strides in integrating gender across all thematic areas in the negotiations. In 2014, the Lima Work Programme on Gender launched, and in 2015, the Paris Agreement integrated gender equality as a preambular principle for all climate action, as well as in relation to adaptation and capacity building. In 2017, the first Gender Action Plan was adopted, followed in 2019 by the adoption of the enhanced Lima Work Programme on Gender and its Gender Action Plan. Additional decisions have aimed to enhance gender equality via both policy and practice, encouraging gender balance indecision-making as well as responsiveness to gender issues in the development, implementation and monitoring of climate change policies and actions.

Displaying 11 - 13 of 13
Decision 3/CMA.6

Global goal on adaptation

Theme
Adaptation
Tags 
GB
GM
Event 
CMA6
Year 
2024
Gender references Elaborated language Download PDF

Gender reference

9. Emphasizes the importance of ensuring geographical and gender balance among the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above working across the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 of decision 2/CMA.5;

[...]

21. Further decides that the final outcome of the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme should include, where applicable:

(d) Indicators that capture information pertaining to, inter alia, social inclusion, Indigenous Peoples, participatory processes, human rights, gender equality, migrants, children and young people, and persons with disabilities;

Elaborated language

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, in particular paragraph 1, which provided for the establishment of the global goal on adaptation of enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change with a view to contributing to sustainable development and ensuring an adequate adaptation response in the context of the temperature goal referred to in Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Agreement,

Also recalling relevant provisions and principles of the Convention and the Paris Agreement,

Further recalling decision 2/CMA.5, in particular paragraph 30, which notes with concern that the adaptation finance gap is widening,

1. Welcomes the convening by the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies of technical experts to assist in the technical work under the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme on indicators for measuring progress achieved towards the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 of decision 2/CMA.5, including reviewing and refining the compilation and mapping of existing indicators relevant to measuring that progress;

2. Notes with appreciation the work of the secretariat in supporting activities under the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme to date;

3. Acknowledges with appreciation the significant progress made by the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above in their work on indicators under the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme, noting the time constraints faced in the delivery of the refined mapping of indicators prior to the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement and the time and effort the experts contributed to the mapping;

4. Welcomes the contribution of the Adaptation Committee to the compilation and mapping referred to in paragraph 1 above;

5. Expresses appreciation to the Governments of Bhutan and Egypt for hosting the workshops on matters related to the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme held in Thimphu from 15 to 17 May 20243 and in Sharm el-Sheikh from 8 to 9 October 20244 respectively;

6. Takes note of the report by the secretariat on the workshop held in Sharm el-Sheikh referred to in paragraph 5 above, including the refined mapping prepared by the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above, and notes that the report5 was published late in the pre-sessional period;

7. Requests the secretariat to make the informal progress reports that were prepared by the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above prior to the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement available on the UNFCCC website;

8. Recalls paragraph 39 of decision 2/CMA.5 and the request of the subsidiary bodies6 for their Chairs to convene technical experts to assist in reviewing and refining the compilation and mapping referred to in paragraph 1 above and, as needed, developing new indicators for measuring progress achieved towards the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 of decision 2/CMA.5 and confirms that the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement will decide on a final list of indicators at its seventh session (November 2025);

9. Emphasizes the importance of ensuring geographical and gender balance among the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above working across the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 of decision 2/CMA.5;

10. Recognizes that further guidance is required for the experts referred to in paragraph 1 above and requests the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies to invite the experts to:

(a) Ensure that they apply common approaches and methodologies as they continue their work on refining the indicators referred to in paragraph 1 above and developing new indicators under the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme on the basis of the criteria referred to in paragraph 17 below, as appropriate;

(b) Enhance collaboration among the experts working across both the thematic and the dimensional targets 7 with a view to identifying synergies, and facilitate contributions by experts from all geographical regions across all the targets;

(c) Prioritize reducing the number of global indicators in the next stage of their work, keeping indicators that reflect overarching trends and common challenges related to adaptation efforts across countries;

(d) Develop, if needed, or identify from the compilation and mapping referred to in paragraph 1 above indicators for enabling factors for the implementation of adaptation action, including means of implementation;

[...]

20. Also decides that, noting the need to avoid placing an additional reporting burden on Parties, the final outcome of the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme may include a manageable set of no more than 100 indicators that: (a) Are globally applicable with a view to informing an analysis of relevant global trends;

(b) Constitute a menu that captures various contexts of adaptation action, enabling Parties to choose which indicators they will report on in the light of their national circumstances;

(c) Are designed to enable assessment of progress towards achieving the different components of the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 of decision 2/CMA.5; 21. Further decides that the final outcome of the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme should include, where applicable:

(a) Information on the intended purpose of and potential data sources for each of the indicators referred to in paragraph 26(b) below, as well as the mechanisms needed to develop data standards for each indicator;

(b) Outcome and output indicators for the thematic targets; (c) Qualitative, quantitative, input, output, outcome, impact and process indicators, including existing and new ones;

(d) Indicators that capture information pertaining to, inter alia, social inclusion, Indigenous Peoples, participatory processes, human rights, gender equality, migrants, children and young people, and persons with disabilities;

(e) Indicators that are relevant to specific ecosystems,9 and highlight them, where appropriate, to Parties with similar geographical conditions;

(f) Indicators that reflect the unique vulnerabilities of children to climate change impacts across the thematic targets and, potentially, cross-cutting indicators related to education and the health of children and young people;

(g) Quantitative and qualitative indicators for enabling factors for the implementation of adaptation action, including means of implementation;

22. Decides that the final outcome of the United Arab Emirates–Belém work programme should constitute a source of input, including through reporting by Parties, for the technical phase of the global stocktake by specifying a way to structure and inform the assessment of progress in adaptation;

[...]

Decision 1/CMA.6

New collective quantified goal on climate finance

Theme
Finance
Tags 
GM
Event 
CMA6
Year 
2024
Gender references Elaborated language Download PDF

Gender reference

26. Urges Parties and other relevant actors to promote the inclusion and extension of benefits to vulnerable communities and groups in climate finance efforts, including women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, migrants and refugees, climate-vulnerable communities and people in vulnerable situations;

Elaborated language

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling Article 9 of the Paris Agreement,

Also recalling Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement, which sets out the goals of the Paris Agreement, and Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement, which provides that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances, Further recalling decision 1/CP.21, paragraph 53, Recalling decisions 14/CMA.1, 9/CMA.3, 5/CMA.4 and 8/CMA.5,

1. Affirms that the new collective quantified goal on climate finance is aimed at contributing to accelerating the achievement of Article 2 of the Paris Agreement of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change; increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emission development in a manner that does not threaten food production; and making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development;

2. Reaffirms the outcomes of the first global stocktake and stresses the urgency of enhancing ambition and action in this critical decade to address the gaps in the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement;

3. Highlights that costed needs reported in nationally determined contributions of developing country Parties are estimated at USD 5.1–6.8 trillion for up until 2030 or USD 455–584 billion per year1 and adaptation finance needs are estimated at USD 215–387 billion annually for up until 20302 and notes with concern the gap between climate finance flows and needs, particularly for adaptation in developing country Parties;

4. Notes the findings of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including the urgency of climate action; that finance, technology and international cooperation are critical enablers for accelerated climate action; that if climate goals are to be achieved, both adaptation and mitigation financing would need to be increased manyfold; and that there is sufficient global capital to close the global investment gap but there are barriers to redirecting capital to climate action, and that governments, through public funding and clear signals to investors, are key in reducing these barriers; 

5. Decides that the new collective quantified goal on climate finance will support the implementation of developing country Parties’, inter alia, nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, including those submitted as adaptation components of nationally determined contributions; contribute to increasing and accelerating ambition; and reflect the evolving needs and priorities of developing country Parties, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and have significant capacity constraints, such as the least developed countries and small island developing States;

6. Reiterates the importance of reforming the multilateral financial architecture4 and underscores the need to remove barriers and address disenablers faced by developing country Parties in financing climate action, including high costs of capital, limited fiscal space, unsustainable debt levels, high transaction costs and conditionalities for accessing climate finance;

7. Calls on all actors to work together to enable the scaling up of financing to developing country Parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035;

8. Reaffirms, in this context, Article 9 of the Paris Agreement and decides to set a goal, in extension of the goal referred to in paragraph 53 of decision 1/CP.21, with developed country Parties taking the lead, of at least USD 300 billion per year by 2035 for developing country Parties for climate action:

(a) From a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources;

(b) In the context of meaningful and ambitious mitigation and adaptation action, and transparency in implementation;

(c) Recognizing the voluntary intention of Parties to count all climate-related outflows from and climate-related finance mobilized by multilateral development banks towards achievement of the goal set forth in this paragraph;

[...]

26. Urges Parties and other relevant actors to promote the inclusion and extension of benefits to vulnerable communities and groups in climate finance efforts, including women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, migrants and refugees, climate-vulnerable communities and people in vulnerable situations;

[...]

Decision 2/CMA.6

Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme

Theme
Mitigation
Tags 
GB
Event 
CMA6
Year 
2024
Gender references Elaborated language Download PDF

Gender reference

11. Requests the secretariat to organize, under the guidance of the co-chairs of the work programme, future global dialogues and investment-focused events under the work programme in such a manner as to:

(a) Enhance regional and gender balance among invited experts;

(b) Increase the number of participants from each Party, particularly from developing country Parties, including by expanding virtual participation opportunities;

(c) Enable Parties to contribute to determining the agenda, subtopics and guiding questions for the dialogues and events with a view to enhancing transparency;

(d) Enhance the matchmaking function to assist Parties in accessing finance, including investment, grants and concessional loans;

(e) Enhance understanding of regional perspectives;

Elaborated language

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling the Paris Agreement,

Also recalling Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement, which provides that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,

Further recalling Article 4, paragraph 5, of the Paris Agreement, which provides that support shall be provided to developing country Parties for the implementation of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, in accordance with Articles 9–11 of the Agreement, recognizing that enhanced support for developing country Parties will allow for higher ambition in their actions, Recalling decision 4/CMA.4, particularly paragraphs 1–4, and decision 4/CMA.5,

Recognizing that Parties have different starting points, capacities and national circumstances and highlighting the importance of capacity-building support for developing countries,

Reaffirming the nationally determined nature of nationally determined contributions,

1. Expresses appreciation to the co-chairs of the Sharm el-Sheikh mitigation ambition and implementation work programme for 2023–2024, Amr Osama Abdel-Aziz and Lola Vallejo, and the secretariat for their work under the programme, including organizing the four global dialogues and investment-focused events thereunder in 2023–2024; and to the experts, facilitators and advisory panel members for their contributions to the dialogues and events;

2. Also expresses appreciation to the Government of Egypt for hosting in 2024 the fourth global dialogue and investment-focused event under the work programme;

3. Welcomes the progress of implementation of the work programme in 2023–2024, including through:

(a) Provision of a platform for deepening understanding of opportunities, best practices, actionable solutions, challenges and barriers related to the topics discussed at the global dialogues and investment-focused events;

(b) Provision of opportunities for matchmaking between project proponents and potential financiers through pitch hubs held at the investment-focused events;

(c) Publication of the annual reports on the work programme;

[...]

10. Recalls paragraph 14 of decision 4/CMA.4 and paragraph 9 of decision 4/CMA.5 and encourages Parties, observers and other stakeholders to submit views on opportunities, best practices, actionable solutions, challenges and barriers relevant to the topic of each dialogue under the work programme via the submission portal four weeks before each dialogue, noting that the submissions may include information on:

(a) The experts, potential financiers and investors to be invited to participate in the global dialogues and investment-focused events;

(b) The specific needs and circumstances of developing country Parties, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, as provided for in the Convention and the Paris Agreement;

11. Requests the secretariat to organize, under the guidance of the co-chairs of the work programme, future global dialogues and investment-focused events under the work programme in such a manner as to:

(a) Enhance regional and gender balance among invited experts; 

(b) Increase the number of participants from each Party, particularly from developing country Parties, including by expanding virtual participation opportunities;

(c) Enable Parties to contribute to determining the agenda, subtopics and guiding questions for the dialogues and events with a view to enhancing transparency;

(d) Enhance the matchmaking function to assist Parties in accessing finance, including investment, grants and concessional loans;

(e) Enhance understanding of regional perspectives;

12. Recalls paragraph 9 of decision 4/CMA.4, in which it was decided that other in-person or hybrid dialogues may be held each year in conjunction with existing events, such as the regional climate weeks, at the discretion of the co-chairs of the work programme with a view to ensuring inclusive and balanced geographical representation at the dialogues;

13. Notes the discussion at this session regarding the creation of a digital platform to facilitate implementation of mitigation actions by enhancing collaboration between governments, financiers and other stakeholders on developing investable projects in a country-owned and nationally determined manner;

14. Invites Parties, observers and other stakeholders to submit via the submission portal by 1 May 2025 views on the design and features of the platform referred to in paragraph 13 above with a view to an exchange of views on the platform taking place at the sixty-second sessions of the subsidiary bodies (June 2025);

15. Takes note of the estimated budgetary implications of the activities to be undertaken by the secretariat referred to in paragraph 11 above;

16. Requests that the actions of the secretariat called for in this decision be undertaken subject to the availability of financial resources.

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