As we all gear for the global stocktake - the critical turning point of efforts to address climate change -Africa climate week, and Conference of Parties (COP) 28, allow me to take you through one of the most critical journeys of all time! The journey of COPs!
Let me tell you Maina, while the number of Conference of the Parties (COP) decisions reflecting gender perspectives has increased considerably since 2010, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was conspicuously gender-blind for a long time.
Of the three multilateral environmental agreements that emerged from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, it was the only one with no gender-sensitive language in its text.
The first reference to gender equality in a COP decision and the first standalone decision that contributed to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment appeared almost a decade later at COP7, in 2001.
Despite these initial steps, gender considerations did not emerge again for another nine years, until the Cancun Agreements were adopted at COP16 in 2010. It was only at COP18 in 2012 that parties added ‘gender and climate’ as a standing agenda item for COP sessions, agreeing that gender-related issues should no longer be considered on an ad hoc basis under ‘any other business’.
Despite a slow start, the UNFCCC strengthened its consideration of gender equality-related issues, building on the momentum generated in Cancun and Doha.
Initially, gender considerations focused on increasing women’s participation in the UNFCCC.
In fact, many criticized the Doha decision for focusing primarily on promoting gender balance rather than on issuing a stronger call for gender equality.
Nevertheless, the decision represented a significant step forward in the UNFCCC’s consideration of gender, as it crosscuts with all other aspects of the global response to climate change.
As reflected in the preamble, parties recognised that increasing women’s participation and having a balanced representation of women and men from developing and developed countries in the negotiations can help ensure climate policy is sensitive and responsive to the differing needs of women and men in all contexts.
In other words, there is an understanding that allowing women’s voices to be heard on an equal basis with men’s can bring a greater variety of views and more representative perspectives of society to the negotiating table.
This, in turn, can facilitate the adoption of climate policy that addresses the needs and interests of populations more comprehensively.
But perhaps most importantly, the Doha decision institutionalized gender and climate by ensuring it became a standing item for all subsequent COP sessions.
This constituted a strong entry point for future discussion on gender issues and further elaboration of the gender equality and climate change agenda in the UNFCCC.
The Gender Shift
In 2014 the COP 20 established the first Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG) (Decision 18/CP.20) to advance gender balance and integrate considerations into the work of the parties and the secretariat in implementing the convention and the Paris Agreement so as to achieve gender-responsive climate policy and action.
Malawi tabled the draft decision on behalf of the Least Developed Countries Group.
The final outcome established a two-year work programme for promoting gender balance and achieving a gender-responsive climate policy, which would guide the effective participation of women in the bodies set up under the convention.
COP 22 decided on a three year extension of the LWPG, with a review at COP 25 (Decision 21/CP.22) and the first Gender Action Plan (GAP) under the UNFCCC was established at COP 23.
The Gender Action Plan
The GAP, created under LWPG, seeks to advance women’s full, equal and meaningful participation and promote gender-responsive climate policy and the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the implementation of the Convention and the work of Parties, the secretariat, United Nations entities and all stakeholders at all levels.
Because we blast our horns daily about it, by now we all know that Gender-responsive climate policy requires further strengthening in all activities concerning adaptation, mitigation and related means of implementation (finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity-building) as well as decision-making on the implementation of climate policies
The enhanced gender action plan sets out objectives and activities under five priority areas that aim to advance knowledge and understanding of gender-responsive climate action and its coherent mainstreaming in the implementation of the UNFCCC and the work of Parties, the secretariat, United Nations entities and all stakeholders, as well as women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the UNFCCC process.
The Lima Work Programme provided a channel for enhanced understanding of the linkages between gender and climate change through the two in-session workshops on gender-responsive climate policy.
Over the years, the UNFCCC has enabled the integration of gender considerations in adaptation, finance and capacity-building activities.
But mitigation and technology transfer and development have yet to embrace gender responsiveness under both the convention and the Paris Agreement.
Another mandate from the Lima Work Programme was to promote the participation of women in UNFCCC bodies.
Its reports on gender composition show that progress towards achieving gender balance has been slow.
The record achievement was in 2013 when women constituted 52 per cent of the Consultative Group of Experts in National Communications.
The Joint Implementation and Compliance Committees have the highest percentage of women in 2016, at 40 per cent.
The CTCN Board has the fewest female members, at 6 per cent.
The LDC Group believes that achieving gender balance and gender-responsive climate policies is possible with additional work by parties, the UNFCCC secretariat
GAP in Africa
Tanzania
At the national level, National Human Rights institutions (NHRIs) are uniquely placed to support the integrated implementation of climate change frameworks.
NHRIs are independent state institutions established by constitutional or legislative authority, mandated to ensure national compliance with international human rights commitments.
The Paris Principles establish NHRIs mandate.
When it comes to the GAP, NHRIs has played a key role in priority area (B) - Gender balance, participation and women’s leadership by leveraging on their engagements in human rights education at national and local levels - as human rights is a core mandate.
The NHRIs in addition conduct human rights education in remote and marginalized communities, where addressing issues of inequality - more so gendered inequalities - requires shifts in social norms.
Liberia
In Liberia, women’s participation is impacted by poor representation, low awareness, limited education, traditional norms, issues with mobility and access to meetings, low accountability and trust in governance structures and most unfortunately - exclusion of women’s priorities.
The GAP may not be achieving the anticipated benefits, particularly in the community.
Brazil
In Brazil, Espaço Feminista has developed a local-level model for global agenda implementation.
They are aiding groups of women to use data to advocate and partner with policymakers to change and implement policies in line with the SDGs.
Espaço Feminista began developing this model in 2011, recognizing women and communities as agents of change and sustainable development.
They are building alliances with the government and other stakeholders, and empowering women and communities in the process.
This model could be adapted and piloted in Brazil to more specifically include climate change agendas and human rights mechanisms and obligations.
At COP 27, parties concluded the intermediate review of the implementation of the gender action plan that started in June 2022.
The review included amendments to some deliverables and three new activities in priority areas.
To be continued ….
