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| Women's march, Bangkok. Photo: Gender CC |
How did issues of women’s participation and gender perspectives get into the UN climate negotiations?
“Parallel to the first conference of the parties (COP1), held in Berlin in 1995, an international women’s forum, ’Solidarity
in the Greenhouse’ attracted 200 women from 25 countries. Over two days, they talked about mitigating climate change, and
how they perceived the official debates and recommendations. During the following COPs, women’s issues were not reflected
in the discussions, either inside or outside the official process. Then, at COP6 in The Hague, women’s perspectives made another
appearance: some civil society representatives commented on the important role women played in the negotiations although their
presence in delegations actually only numbered a few. At subsequent conferences, various side events addressed gender issues,
in particular those related to energy and adaptation.
Starting at COP9 in Milan, a gender and climate change network was initiated that called for “mainstreaming gender into the climate change regime”. This has ultimately developed into the network and organisation we have today: GenderCC – Women for Climate Justice. We are convening daily women’s meetings at every COP (Women’s Caucus). We raise awareness and build capacity among negotiators and observers using information booths, side events, and campaigning actions. We make interventions in plenary and submit written inputs to the UNFCCC process (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). In our global network, we have been developing a research agenda and work on pilot projects to really learn what makes the change to realize women’s rights and gender justice in the context of climate change.
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It is interesting to observe the increase in attention over the years: as long as gender perspectives focused on mitigation issues, the reception in the negotiations was poor. It was only when adaptation came more into the centre of the negotiations that women and gender issues gained more recognition. Until today, it is mostly ‘women as victims of climate change’ that have found their way into the negotiations texts. Women’s knowledge and recommendations regarding mitigation of climate change and in particular regarding gender aspects of climate protection mechanisms are not well recognized even until now.”
What difference can it make if there are women in government delegations?
“Principally, women’s participation is a question of equality and justice and does not need further justification. And we
should keep in mind that it doesn’t automatically lead to a growing recognition of women’s rights and gender justice if there
are women on a delegation. That’s why we are asking for delegations to include gender experts and for the whole process to
include gender expertise at every level. Establishing a high level expert advisory group on gender, for example, might help
to achieve this – but only if the official process is obliged to consider the group’s input.”
Are NGOs better than the UN Member States when it comes to women’s participation in delegations?
“The debate on climate change has been very narrow, focusing on the economic effects of climate change, efficiency, and technological
problems, and has attracted mostly men. This also goes for governments, intergovernmental organisations or nongovernmental
organisations. Perhaps what is more significant is how a country and its political culture views gender issues. Another factor
seems to be how countries – governments and civil society – perceive climate change: if social and economic issues play a
key role for a country that is under great pressure to adapt, for example, then gender issues might come into view more easily.
Sometimes, such factors may be mirrored in the compositions of delegations.”
You have participated in the preparatory meeting for COP15 which took place in Bonn. What are your impressions from that meeting?
“The official process did not make much progress at all. We note that the usual tactics seem to be played out here just as
anywhere else – such as waiting until the last few minutes to make commitments, or horse-trading commitments on otherwise
unrelated issues. Some argue that nothing else should be expected of a UN negotiation process – in which case we say that
the international community urgently needs to look what kind of fora and processes can be created to deliver what the world
needs: urgent action on climate change.
Women’s organisations and gender experts from some IGOs worked hard to lobby governments and develop submissions. So, while the process is not delivering, there’s been some progress on integrating gender. In the beginning of 2009, GenderCC applied to the UNFCCC Secretariat to acknowledge women and gender NGOs as a distinct observer constituency. This might be approved before COP15, and we have started developing the structure and governance of the constituency. This certainly marks a new era in women’s involvement in the climate negotiations, and we are delighted to see it.”
What are your expectations for COP15 when it comes to women’s participation and gender issues?
“Gender must form an integral part of the whole process and its outcomes. We know from other policy processes that only if
gender aspects are integrated in the documents will there be a chance hold governments accountable to their commitments. The
whole climate change debate needs to be set firmly into the context of human rights and sustainable development. The Principles
of the Rio Declaration should serve as the overall framework for developing fair and effective policies for mitigation and
adaptation – we have these agreements, we need to use them! The future climate regime can neither ignore half of the Earth’s
population nor deem it vulnerable by nature. This is a matter of justice. And it is a matter of achieving climate policies
and actions that actually work.”
Minu Hemmati is a clinical psychologist with a doctorate in organisational and environmental psychology. She is working as
an independent adviser. Ulrike Röhr, an engineer and sociologist by background, is co-ordinating the network GenderCC – Women
for Climate Justice (www.gendercc.net).
This article has been published in NIKK magasin 2 2009 © NIKK
