Still don’t grasp what the GAP is all about? What if we tell you that advancing gender mandates will give a real boost to your climate action?
Parties have just spent the last 4 days reviewing what has been achieved under the Gender Action Plan (GAP) so far and guess what? Implementing the GAP is not so scary after all. The gender workshop organized by the UNFCCC Secretariat Gender Team under its mandate, engaged all participants in a positive spirit thanks to fruitful experience sharing. Successful stories were presented by Finland, Tonga, and Bolivia. For instance, did you know that Chile engaged in a national gender-diagnostic and a targeted capacity building process in the energy, agriculture and fishing sectors to adopt a gender approach in its mitigation actions?
We also listened to the Adaptation Committee, CTCN, IPCC, PCCB, GCF, and WIM ExCom as they gave us the latest update on how they integrate gender equality in their actions. It’s clear, gender is relevant in all articles of the Paris Agreement: UNFCCC constituted bodies have done their homework; now Parties, it’s up to you!
We want a comprehensive, targeted and resourced GAP, as part of a renewed, long-term Lima Work Programme (LWP): this is critical to strengthen gender-responsive and human rights-based climate policy. Advancing gender equality belongs to the adaptation mandate, so why not engage with local communities and provide safe, intentional, and welcoming spaces for women to share their knowledge on climate resilience?
The GAP is a key mechanism to achieving the 1.5°C goal, not a “nice to do” element, but a must do. The time to move towards a second phase of planning has come. It’s time for commitment to progressive targets on women’s meaningful participation. Let’s put money where our mouths are: in activities that enhance the capacity of Parties and stakeholders to develop gender-responsive policies, plans and programmes on adaptation, mitigation, capacity-building, technology and finance! The Gender Just Climate Solutions has actively showcased some of the best practice examples of gender-responsive climate action. These provide key learnings and encourage the upscaling of effective small-scale solutions.
We see fierce female youth leaders leading the student strikes weekly, and they can count on our full solidarity — Can they count on yours?