CoP26: Countries commit to gender-responsive climate action, making women ‘resilient’ to crisis

Bold commitments on paving the way for gender-responsive climate response and making women more ‘resilient’ to the precarious impact of the crisis was a matter of the moment at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) November 9, 2021.

Canada, for example, ensured that 80 per cent of its $4.3 billion climate investments over the next five years will target gender-equality outcomes.

Nigeria pledged to expand its implementation strategy for their National Gender and Climate Action Plan. It sets how gender action should be implemented under five climate change priority areas: Agriculture, forestry and land use; food security and health; energy and transport; waste management; and water and sanitation.

These new commitments have been made in excess of $139 million in pledges already made towards the UN Women-convened Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice led by Maldives, launched at the Generation Equality Forum in Paris in July.

Other commitments include:

• Bolivia will promote leadership of women and girls — especially indigenous, Afro-Bolivian, community and rural women — through their participation in the design of sustainable development projects. Bolivia also committed to reflect gender data in its Nationally Determined Contributions.
• Germany announced a new Gender Strategy under its International Climate Initiative, which will promote gender-transformative approaches in international climate and biodiversity cooperation.
• Sweden announced new measures to embed gender equality within all climate action plans.
• Belgium committing to a Sahel Climate Program focused on the needs of women and girls, with a five-year investment of $58 million.

Sierra Leone commited to addressing long-standing discriminatory land tenure practices. Norway said it will work to increase and strengthen the role and impact of women and girls in both international and national climate decision-making. 

Namratha Rao, research coordinator, Center of Gender Equity and Health, University of California, San Diego, had earlier told Down to Earth the Convention is needs to “effectively define and operationalise enhanced role of women in the context of the environment” .

Anita Raj, director, Center on Gender Equity and Health (GEH), University of California, San Diego, had added:

“A term like ‘building resilience’ suggests our goal should be individual autonomy to withstand climate crises rather than government and societal responsibility to create change and impact. The burdens of climate change negatively affect socio-economic, health and safety concerns, the nature of which is gendered.”

A statement calling for advancement in the role of women and girls to in addressing climate change was released at CoP26 November 2, 2021.

The statement will remain open for signatures from today until the 66th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, to be held in March 2022.

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

SUPPORT US

We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.