Published January 10, 2025 by Carly Kabot, Class of 2026 at Georgetown Law, IIEL Fellow

I. Introduction

On November 13, 2024, UN Women posted a photo to its Instagram with the caption, “Can you spot the women at #COP29? Only 6 out of 78 government leaders mentioned the impact of climate change on women and girls. Four of the six were women.” [1] Five years out from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is more important than ever. While the world is far from achieving its Climate Action Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, the photo from UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), is a powerful reminder of how much work the international community must put into securing another SDG––  SDG 5: Gender Equality. [2]  Neither SDG is obtainable without the other, and feminist climate finance could play a critical role in reaching both.

Women’s lack of access to finance remains a barrier to effective climate action, and UN Women repeatedly called for “increased gender-focused climate finance at COP29.” [3]  Climate change is not gender neutral, [4]  but COP29’s talks were disappointing for women and girls globally. Despite the overwhelming evidence that the climate crisis disproportionately affects women and girls by exacerbating “existing gender inequalities” and posing “unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety,” [5]  women’s participation at COP29 did not reflect this reality. [6] While 40% of parties’ delegates were women–– the highest percentage to date–– executive-level representation was much lower. [7]

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development envisions “the achievement of formal and substantive equality for women.” [8] The international community cannot secure substantive gender equality until women have equal representation at all levels of participation, especially at the level where they are part of the decision-making process. [9] However, championing substantive gender equality comes with challenges. In attempting to make a secondary deal “including a joint pledge to ensure climate action accounts for gender equality,” the European Union reportedly walked out of negotiations in response to pushback from Saudi Arabia, the Vatican, and Russia. [10] Despite the promise of sideline agreements, most COP outcomes are non-binding soft law. [11] Still, they can act as important drivers (and political pressure) for enacting regional and domestic laws.

II. Why Gender Equality is Key to Tackling the Climate Crisis 

Climate change acts as a “threat multiplier,” as the climate crisis “intensifies resource scarcity and worsens existing social, economic and environmental factors.” [12] In the context of gender inequality, climate change increases the vulnerability of women and girls to displacement, gender-based violence, human trafficking, child marriage, worse maternal health, having to leave school to support their families, and more. [13] Equally as critical and far less talked about is how women are environmental stewards, the backbone of resilience, and agents of change. [14] For example, “women are responsible for half the world’s food production” and produce as much as 80% of food in developing countries. [15]

Despite the recognition that women are essential for food security, they have less access to productive inputs like credit, land, and technology. [16] Land tenure can strongly impact climate adaptation and management decisions, as greater control over land empowers owners to make climate smart decisions, [17] but women often lack legal property rights. Studies show that if “women had the same access to a range of resources as men, farm yields could increase by 20-30 per cent, feeding an additional 100 to 150 million people.” [18] Centering feminist climate finance at future COPs, “which advocates for a complete transformation of the climate finance architecture,” can move the international community closer to this ambitious goal. [19]

III. Feminist Climate Finance: A Lack of Gender Responsive-Action 

While the “draft decision on climate finance [did] include a mention of gender,” negotiators did not go far enough to “push for gender-responsive climate finance that is accessible to women-led grassroots organizations and feminist groups who are at the forefront of climate action.” [20] Only 0.01% of global finance supports projects that address climate change and women’s rights, [21]  meaning those at the forefront of climate resilience–– especially Indigenous women–– do not have access to “the financial services necessary to scale up their contributions.” [22]

As the Women’s Environment and Development Organization explains, feminist climate finance, which centers on challenging gender inequality rather than simply adding a gender dimension, ensures “that resources flow not only to reduce emissions but also to advance human rights and social justice.” [23] Unlike climate projects without a gender lens, feminist climate finance centers on “the needs and priorities of local communities” while challenging “gender inequalities through participatory, inclusive processes.” [24] Gender-responsive climate actions “are proven to be more efficient,” [25] as increasing women’s access to resources “can reduce vulnerability and create more resilient households and communities.” [26]

Aligning with a more micro approach to international law, [27] feminist climate finance provides a workaround to many of the COP outcomes, even those that effectively incorporate gender, being non-binding. By focusing on stakeholder engagement on individual and communal levels when enacting domestic law, feminist climate finance can better address gaps that often exist “between the laws on the books and what occurs in practice.” [28] A key part of feminist climate finance is guaranteeing grant-based funding flows “directly to local groups, with flexible, core, and multi-year funding as the ideal to allow locally-led solutions to thrive.” [29]

While COP29 was a missed opportunity to leverage feminist climate finance on the international stage, the success of gender-responsive funding largely hinges on how receiving countries simultaneously promote domestic legislation to bolster gender equality. Feminist climate finance achieves little in practice if women face significant legal roadblocks to productive inputs. However, operationalizing laws that promote women’s economic inclusion, allowing them to maximize feminist climate finance, is too often overlooked. When enacting domestic legislation, governments should also prioritize “the development of implementing regulations and enforcement provisions through the justice system” to “guarantee rights and protections” legislation aims to enshrine. [30]

Still, the responsibility of developed countries in mobilizing feminist climate finance cannot be understated. Developed countries would be apt to focus on regions especially vulnerable to climate change that are struggling to muster sufficient climate finance to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. For example, while Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change, the region “only mobilizes 3% of global climate flows.” [31] Additionally, directing climate finance to women and girls in the most vulnerable regions is also critical to pursuing a just energy transition, as the African continent has only contributed to around 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. [32] A “sustainable, resilient and just energy transition path” must include women and girls in design, execution, implementation, and evaluation. [33] Directing more climate finance funds to women and women-led organizations will do more to fight climate change than ignoring the gender dimension–– and simultaneously tackle the existing inequality that the climate crisis widens.

IV. Reimagining Women’s Leadership for COP30: A Last Chance Effort 

As world leaders reflect on COP29 and prepare for COP30, they should bear in mind that feminist climate finance “addresses the climate crisis in a way that benefits everyone.” [34] In gearing up for what has been deemed “the last chance to avoid an irreversible rupture in the climate system,” [35] gender-responsive climate solutions, especially feminist climate finance, must be more than another agenda item. Before COP28, a report from the UNFCCC Standing Committee found that “gender-responsive approaches increase the overall effectiveness of adaptation finance.” [36] And yet, Azerbaijan initially had an all-men committee. [37]

Only five women have been appointed as COP Presidents since COP1 1995, [38] but with Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silvia already outlining ambitious plans for COP30, there is immense opportunity (and hope) for what next year’s conference will hold for feminist climate finance and beyond. [39] With a woman at the decision-making table, in an Amazonian city for the first time, COP30 is the (last) time to change the narrative. To honor both critical aspects of COP30, countries should prioritize incorporating women at all levels of Party delegations, and actively seek out the perspectives of women from marginalized communities, especially indigenous women, in planning. International law, whether binding agreements or aspirational declarations must be created with–– not for–– those affected. Women’s full, substantive equality in participation in future COP negotiations is not an option–– it is requisite to tackling the climate crisis. 

Sources:

[1] @unwomen, Caption to Can You Spot the Women at #COP29?, UN Women (Nov. 13, 2024), https://www.instagram.com/unwomen/p/DCVKKvxzyk9/.

[2] See The 17 Goals, The United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/goals (last visited Nov. 23, 2024). 

[3] UN Women calls for increased gender-focused climate finance at COP29, UN Women (Nov. 21, 2024), https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/11/un-women-calls-for-increased-gender-focused-climate-finance-at-cop29.

[4] Explainer: How gender inequality and climate change are interconnected, UN Women (Feb. 28, 2022), https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2022/02/explainer-how-gender-inequality-and-climate-change-are-interconnected.

[5] Id.

[6]  See COP29: What is at stake for gender equality as the second week of negotiations starts, UN Women (Nov. 18, 2024), https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/news/2024/11/cop29-what-is-at-stake-for-gender-equality-as-the-second-week-of-negotiation-starts.

[7] Id.

[8] Joanna Botha and Glancina Mokone, Gender, in Ency. of Law and Dev. 95, 96 (Koen De Feyter et al. eds., 2021).

[9] See generally Quick Analysis, Women’s Env’t Dev. Org. Gender Climate Tracker, https://genderclimatetracker.org/participation-stats/quick-analysis (last visited Nov. 23, 2024).

[10] See Zia Weise and Sara Schonhardt, Petro-patriarchy and the pope: Saudis, Vatican lead women’s rights backlash at COP29, Politico (Nov. 18, 2024, 4:35 PM CET), https://www.politico.eu/article/petro-patriarchy-pope-saudis-vatican-womens-rights-backlash-cop29-gender-equality-climate-change/.

[11] See e.g., Tarek El Sayed et al., Outcomes from COP28: What next to accelerate climate action?, McKinsey (Dec. 21, 2023), https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/outcomes-from-cop28-what-next-to-accelerate-climate-action.

[12] See Five ways the climate crisis impacts human security, The United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/human-security (last visited Jan. 8, 2025).

[13] See Explainer: How gender inequality and climate change are interconnected, supra note 4.

[14] See Why women are key to climate action, The United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/women (last visited Nov. 23, 2024).

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] See e.g., How To Secure Land Tenure For Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption, Int’l Land Coal., https://learn.landcoalition.org/en/resources/secure-land-tenure-for-climate-change-mitigation-and-adaptation/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CInsecure%20land%20tenure%20affects%20the,gravest%20threats%20facing%20the%20planet (last visited Nov. 23, 2024).

[18] See Why women are key to climate action, supra note 14.

[19] Tara E. Daniel, The Pivotal Role of Gender Equality in Climate Finance, Women’s Env’t Dev. Org. (Sept. 27, 2024), https://wedo.org/the-pivotal-role-of-gender-equality-in-climate-finance/.

[20] See COP29: What is at stake for gender equality as the second week of negotiations starts, supra note 6.

[21] Closing the Gap, Boosting Ambition: Investing in Women is Key to Climate Action, United Nations Climate Change (Mar. 8, 2024), https://unfccc.int/news/closing-the-gap-boosting-ambition-investing-in-women-is-key-to-climate-action.

[22] UN Women calls for increased gender-focused climate finance at COP29, supra note 3.

[23] Daniel, supra note 19.

[24] Id.

[25] Closing the Gap, Boosting Ambition: Investing in Women is Key to Climate Action, supra note 21.

[26] What does gender equality have to do with climate change?, The United Nations Dev. Programme (Feb. 28, 2023), https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/what-does-gender-equality-have-do-climate-change#:~:text=Giving%20women%20increased%20access%20to,benefit%20the%20needs%20of%20women.

[27] See generally Katrin Kuhlmann, Micro International Law, Stanford J. Int’l Law (forthcoming).

[28] See Emilia Galiano and Nisha Arekapudi, How can laws that promote women’s economic inclusion be operationalized in practice?, The World Bank (July 16, 2021), https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/how-can-laws-promote-womens-economic-inclusion-be-operationalized-practice.

[29] Daniel, supra note 19.

[30] See Galiano and Arekapudi, supra note 28.

[31] See Marc Schrjiver and Josue Banga, COP27: The African COP and the risk of a global U-turn to the Paris Agreement, The World Bank (Nov. 17, 2022), https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/africacan/cop27-african-cop-and-risk-global-u-turn-paris-agreement.

[32] Id.

[33] Ashutosh Singh and Atul Arya, One planet, two realities: Realizing energy transition in the Global South, S&P Global (Mar. 13, 2024), https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/look-forward/one-planet-two-realities-realizing-energy-transition-in-the-global-south.

[34] Daniel, supra note 19.

[35] Franciéli Barcellos, “COP30 will be our last chance to avoid an irreversible rupture in the climate system,” calls Lula at the final thematic session of the G20 Brasil Leaders’ Summit, G20 Brasil 2024 (Nov. 19, 2024, 11:19 AM), https://www.g20.org/en/news/cop30-will-be-our-last-chance-to-avoid-an-irreversible-rupture-in-the-climate-system-calls-lula-at-the-final-thematic-session-of-the-g20-brasil-leaders-summit.

[36] Closing the Gap, Boosting Ambition: Investing in Women is Key to Climate Action, supra note 21.

[37] Nella Canales et al., The all-male Cop29 committee is a big step backwards for climate, Climate Homes News (Jan. 19, 2024, 2:04 PM), https://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/01/19/the-all-male-cop29-committee-is-a-big-step-backwards-for-climate/.

[38] Int’l Gender Champions Podcast, Gender and Climate: Unveiling the Intersections, Int’l Gender Champions, at 02:46 (Nov. 2, 2023), https://genderchampions.com/news/igc-podcast-gender-and-climate-change-unveiling-the-intersections.

[39] See Marina Silva, of Brazil, speaks COP 30 success: ‘Society and science are doing their part. Governments and companies are the ones who need to step up,’ Nature 4 Climate (Nov. 11, 2024), https://nature4climate.org/marina-silva-interview-cop30/.