Gender and Climate at COP30

Last week, I had the honour of contributing as a panelist at the Global Greens webinar The Road to COP30: Bonn SB62. The discussion brought together experts addressing diverse aspects of climate negotiations, with fellow panelists speaking on Nationally Determined Contributions and financial aspects like the quantum. However, I focused on a fundamental truth: climate change and its counter-measures must always be viewed through a gender lens.

In my talk, I stressed that the impacts of climate change are not uniform. Women and girls, especially in vulnerable communities, disproportionately bear the burden of environmental disasters, resource scarcity, and economic instability. I argued that any effort to mitigate climate change must integrate a gender perspective to address these inequities. The challenges, from health security to economic resilience, are interwoven with gender dynamics. Overlooking or negating this reality compromises the effectiveness of our policies.

I drew upon key initiatives already established on the global stage that are related to the Paris Agreement and revisited at every COP. I highlighted the Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG), which emerged in 2014 with the explicit mission to enhance balance and integrate gender into climate policies. Building on this foundation, the Gender Action Plan (GAP), launched in 2019 with a focus on five priority areas, demonstrating that progress is possible when gender considerations are deliberately embedded in environmental dialogues. These frameworks are more than bureaucratic policies, they represent a commitment to ensuring that the voices and needs of women and marginalized groups are central to our climate solutions.

Reflecting back on recent conferences provided tangible context for my intervention. COP28 was the first ever to feature a Gender Day and critical issues such as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and the importance of clean cooking solutions were spotlighted, showcasing how such divergent topics are directly impacted by climate change. COP29 took a significant step back from the progress, with disagreement on the removal of such terms as "gender-based violence" and "intersectionality" from the agreements, regressing the language of the text by over a decade. I argued that such debates are not mere semantics; they are indicative of the deeper challenges we face in achieving a holistic climate response that truly leaves no one behind.

My intervention for this webinar then pivoted toward urgent next steps. I outlined that the development of a new GAP is absolutely essential, with a draft decision targeted for adoption at COP30. I emphasized that this is not just a document to be filed away; these mechanisms ensure that the policies crafted are actionable and supported by the necessary means of implementation. Without financial and institutional support, even well-worded plans risk falling short.

In conclusion, my message was clear: If we are to confront the multifaceted challenges of climate change effectively, we must integrate gender justice into every facet of our response. My intervention was a call to action, a reminder that sustainable, inclusive climate action begins when we acknowledge and address the varied experiences of women and girls. The conversation that began at Bonn SB62 must continue to ripple outwards, ultimately transforming our global climate policies and ensuring that equity is at the very heart of our collective future.