UN Women calls for a strong Gender Action Plan at COP30 to keep gender equality as a central pillar for climate action – UN Women

Report on Gender Equality as a Central Pillar for Climate Action

Executive Summary

This report addresses the critical intersection of climate change and gender inequality, highlighting the disproportionate impact of climate-related crises on women and marginalized groups. These impacts create significant barriers to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The upcoming COP30 presents a pivotal moment for the international community to reinforce its commitments by adopting a transformative Gender Action Plan (GAP). Such a plan is not merely a matter of justice but a strategic imperative for effective, inclusive, and rights-based climate action. A new Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard will be launched to provide a crucial tool for measuring governmental progress and ensuring accountability in integrating gender equality into national climate policies.

The Impact of Climate Change on Gender Equality and Sustainable Development

Exacerbation of Existing Inequalities

The effects of climate change are not gender-neutral; they amplify pre-existing social and economic disparities. This has direct consequences for several SDGs:

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) & SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): Women and marginalized groups are at the forefront of climate-related displacement, food insecurity, and loss of livelihoods.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality) & SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Climate impacts deepen gender inequality, undermining hard-won progress and making the achievement of these goals more challenging.

According to Sarah Hendriks, Director at UN Women, a failure to address these issues through a robust GAP would signal that women’s leadership and experience are considered expendable, setting back progress on gender equality and human rights.

The Strategic Imperative for Gender-Responsive Climate Action

The original Gender Action Plan, adopted in 2017, was instrumental in integrating gender considerations across all facets of the UNFCCC process, including mitigation, adaptation, finance, and technology. Building on this foundation is essential, as effective climate action under SDG 13 is intrinsically linked to the advancement of SDG 5. Making gender equality a tangible component of climate decision-making is a strategic necessity for sustainable and just outcomes.

UN Women’s Call for a Transformative Gender Action Plan at COP30

Core Objectives for the New GAP

UN Women calls on all Parties to adopt a transformative Gender Action Plan at COP30 that is structured around the following principles, which align with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

1. Address the root causes of gender inequality and climate vulnerability, ensuring the plan is grounded in principles of accountability and effective implementation, supporting SDG 5 and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).
2. Be adequately resourced to translate policy commitments into tangible action on the ground.
3. Protect and promote the rights of women and girls in all their diversity, a cornerstone of SDG 5.
4. Uphold human rights and civic space, explicitly recognizing the leadership of women environmental human rights defenders as essential to achieving climate justice, in line with SDG 16.

The adoption of such a plan will be a defining moment for global commitment to gender equality and will affirm the integrity of the UNFCCC as a platform for inclusive, rights-based multilateral climate governance.

Analysis of National Climate Policies: The Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard

A New Tool for Accountability

At COP30, UN Women and the Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls will launch the Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard. This pioneering tool measures how effectively governments are integrating gender equality into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The Scorecard assesses policies across six key dimensions linked to the SDGs:

• Economic security (related to SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth)
• Unpaid care work (related to SDG 5.4)
• Health (related to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being)
• Gender-based violence (related to SDG 5.2 and SDG 16)
• Participation and leadership (related to SDG 5.5)
• Gender mainstreaming

Key Findings from Initial Analysis

An initial analysis of 32 NDCs reveals significant progress and persistent gaps in achieving gender-responsive climate policy:

• While most countries acknowledge the disproportionate vulnerability of women to climate change, fewer recognize their vital contributions to climate solutions.
• A comprehensive approach to addressing gender inequalities is often lacking. Ten of the 32 countries demonstrate strong policy commitments across most dimensions.
• Sixteen countries take a limited or moderately comprehensive approach, while six countries have no commitments to future gender-responsive actions in their NDCs.
• Policy commitments are most common in the area of women’s economic security, while critical issues such as women’s health (SDG 3), unpaid care work (SDG 5), and gender-based violence remain relatively neglected in climate action plans.

1. Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The article highlights several interconnected issues that directly relate to multiple Sustainable Development Goals. The primary focus is on the intersection of climate change and gender inequality, but it also touches upon broader themes of human rights, institutional strength, and poverty.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is the central theme of the article. The text explicitly states that “Climate change is not gender neutral” and that its impacts “exacerbate existing inequalities.” The entire call to action revolves around adopting a “transformative Gender Action Plan” and making “gender equality a central pillar of effective, inclusive and just climate action.”

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The context for the entire discussion is climate action, specifically within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the upcoming COP30. The article discusses Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Paris Agreement, and strategies for mitigation and adaptation, all of which are core components of SDG 13.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article calls for a Gender Action Plan that “upholds human rights and civic space, recognizing the leadership of women environmental human rights defenders.” This directly connects to building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels and protecting fundamental freedoms.

• SDG 1: No Poverty & SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  The article links climate change impacts to poverty and hunger by stating that women are on the “frontlines of climate-related displacement, food insecurity and loss of livelihoods.” Addressing the gendered impacts of climate change is therefore crucial for achieving goals related to poverty eradication and food security.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article showcases multi-stakeholder collaboration. It mentions the launch of the Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard by “UN Women and the Kaschak Institute for Social Justice for Women and Girls” and a side event organized in partnership with the “Government of Liberia.” This highlights the importance of partnerships to achieve sustainable development.

2. Specific SDG Targets

Based on the article’s content, several specific targets under the identified SDGs can be pinpointed.

• Targets under SDG 5 (Gender Equality)

  • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making. The article explicitly calls for recognizing “women’s leadership and experience” in the climate fight and measures “participation and leadership” in its Scorecard.
  • Target 5.c: Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality. The call for a “robust GAP” and the analysis of gender mainstreaming in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) directly address this target.
  • Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work. The article notes that “unpaid care work” is a dimension that is “relatively neglected” in national climate policies, identifying it as a key area for action.

• Targets under SDG 13 (Climate Action)

  • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The article’s focus on analyzing NDCs—the “climate action plans submitted by countries”—is a direct examination of progress on this target from a gender perspective.
  • Target 13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management… including focusing on women. The Gender Action Plan itself is a mechanism designed to build capacity and ensure that climate action is gender-responsive.

• Targets under SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

  • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. The article’s emphasis on making gender equality a “tangible part of climate decision-making” and promoting “inclusive and rights-based multilateral climate governance” aligns with this target.

3. Indicators for Measuring Progress

The article explicitly mentions and implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets.

• The Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard

  This is the most direct indicator mentioned. It is described as a “pioneering tool that measures how governments are tackling gender inequalities through their national climate policies.” It provides a clear framework for measurement.

• Six Dimensions of the Scorecard

  The Scorecard uses six specific dimensions as indicators to assess the comprehensiveness of gender integration in climate policy. These are:

  1. Economic security
  2. Unpaid care work
  3. Health
  4. Gender-based violence
  5. Participation and leadership
  6. Gender mainstreaming

• Policy Commitments in NDCs

  An implied indicator is the number and quality of gender-responsive commitments within a country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The article provides baseline data from this indicator, stating, “Ten countries… are showing the way, with policy commitments across five or six dimensions,” while “six countries do not commit to any future gender-responsive action at all in their NDC.”

• Adoption and Resourcing of the Gender Action Plan (GAP)

  The adoption of a “strong,” “transformative,” and “adequately resourced” GAP at COP30 is presented as a critical indicator of global commitment. The specific content, implementation mechanisms, and financial resources allocated to the GAP would serve as measurable indicators of progress.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: unwomen.org