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The call for a just, transformative & gender-responsive climate agreement

As world leaders and activists descent on Paris for COP21, the latest set of talks to agree solutions to the climate crisis, the European Women's Lobby have created a list of demands for those taking part in the discussions.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges that the world faces, and affects us all. However, men and women affect and are affected by environmental and climate change in different ways; they also contribute to climate justice through diverse strategies. In all countries, women and women’s organisations play an important role, which has been recognised by the work programme on gender initiated at COP 20 in 2014 in Lima. Women are half of the world’s population: it is obvious that the planet won’t be saved without women’s leadership and full participation.

The European Women’s Lobby calls for women’s human rights and gender equality to be fully integrated into the final COP21 agreement, not only in the general principles, but in provisions concerning the implementation of policies and financial and technological mechanisms. More than two third of the 154 countries who made their contribution to COP21 did not include a women’s rights perspective.

Despite the European Union’s leading role in advancing international negotiations on climate change, the gender dimension has been largely absent from policy initiatives and debates at all levels. The EWL calls on the EU and its member states to work towards the realisation of the strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women and the Environment, as well as their own recent commitments on Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment and Climate Change (Council Conclusions 2012 and 2015) and the concrete implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals.

The UK's delegation to the COP21 talks will be let by Amber Rudd MP, Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Environment Minister Dr Aileen McLeod will be representing Scotland.

We'd encourage our members to contact them via email or social media to pass on EWL's demands!

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