SB44: Gender and climate change
Submitted by esther.lake@undp.org on 27 May 2016
21 May 2016, UNFCCC Conference Area, Bonn, Germany: Integrating gender into the LDC Group climate change agenda was the theme of a session held at the SB44 Bonn Climate Change Conference held in May 2016 in Bonn, Germany.
This event was supported by the LDCF funded project 'Building capacity of LDCs to participate effectively in intergovernmental climate change processes', implemented jointly by UNDP and UNEP.
The session was chaired by Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, Chair of the LDC Group. He noted that the session was building on the agreements at previous COPs in Lima and Paris, saying “We are seeking to improve participation of women in all bodies under the convention, to reach a common understanding of action on gender and on climate change."
Mozaharul Alam, UNEP Regional Climate Change Coordinator, said “We need to understand the underlining drivers of inequality. In addition, understanding different roles and responsibilities are very important in terms of managing adverse impacts and actions we are taking. We must make our climate change projects more gender responsive and inclusive.”
The session was facilitated by Rohini Kohli, Lead Technical Specialist, NAP-GSP UNDP. She said, “We need to see both men and women as agents of change. Empowering women has a positive effect for building resilience.”
A presentation and discussion on gender-related definitions, general gender and climate change awareness, and gender considerations in climate change for LDCs was led by Lorena Aguilar, IUCN and Bridget Burns, WEDO. This was followed by an interactive excercise led by Prakash Bista, UNEP.
Stella Gama, Malawi, LDC Group, and Fleur Newman, UNFCCC, led an interactive discussion on gender and how it impacts on and links to the climate change thematic areas; adaptation, mitigation, finance, capacity building, technology. The discussion also focussed on gender-related decisions and conclusions and the implications of the work under UNFCCC.
Bridget Burns, WEDO, said, “it is critical that the issue of gender does not refer just to women's issues. The aim is not that men and women become the same, but that their opportunities, resources and awards are equal. The first steps we can take involve gender mainstreaming. Under the UNFCCC, progress has been made in terrms of mainstreaming gender. But gaps remain, including a lack of measurable targets and resources, and mandate that goes back to implementation."
