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There has been a rise in gender-responsive climate policies and actions globally, according to a new synthesis report from the UN Climate Change secretariat.
Around 81 per cent of the Parties to the Paris Agreement referred to gender in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). This is a significant improvement on when Parties first communicated their intended NDCs in 2015, of which only a few included references to gender, according to analysis by the Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO).
The report Implementation of gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and action synthesised information on Parties’ reporting of gender-responsive climate policies, plans, strategies and action in nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, national communications, long-term low-emission development strategies and biennial transparency reports submitted to the secretariat as of July 31, 2024. Till that date, the total number of NDCs of 195 Parties was 168.
Gender was often referred to in the context of stakeholder engagement, including formal arrangements in place for consulting with local communities, Indigenous Peoples, the private sector, civil society, academia and women’s associations and youth associations in those NDCs, according to the report.
Of the Parties that referred to gender in those NDCs, 62.3 per cent described efforts to strengthen institutional mechanisms for mainstreaming gender considerations across climate action. Some 11.5 per cent described initiatives aimed at increasing the gender balance and diversity of stakeholder groups engaged to support monitoring and evaluation of adaptation action, including initiatives targeting the agriculture, forestry and water resources sectors, according to the analysis.
Around 55.7 per cent affirmed their commitment to gender equality, it showed.
The new report noted that current gender references primarily focus on women, especially in the context of vulnerability, with very few references consider men who may be in vulnerable situations.
The authors of the report also observed that while developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDC) have been consistently integrating gender into their regular reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), developed countries often provide limited or no references to gender, particularly in National Communications and long-term low-emission development strategy.
Climate change has serious ramifications in four dimensions of food security: Availability, accessibility, utilisation and food systems stability.
Women farmers currently account for 45-80 per cent of all food production in developing countries depending on the region. About two-thirds of the female labour force in developing countries and more than 90 per cent in many African countries are engaged in agricultural work.
With climate change, conventional food sources are becoming increasingly unreliable and rare. Women often lose both their income and harvests, which are frequently their only means of sustenance and financial support.
Related increases in food prices make food more inaccessible to poor people, in particular to women and girls whose health has been found to decline more than male health in times of food shortages.
Moreover, women are often excluded from decision-making on access to and the use of land and resources critical to their livelihoods.
The report suggested that many see gender-responsive strategies as a means to enhance the ambition and efficacy of climate initiatives. Most Parties reiterated their dedication to promoting gender equality as an essential part of this effort.
This was reflected in the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake agreed at the 28th Conference of Parties to UNFCCC, which encouraged Parties to implement climate policy and action that is gender-responsive.
The next round of NDCs (3.0), which Parties are preparing to submit in 2025, will serve as a crucial chance to enhance collaborative efforts to attain gender equality and successful climate results.