At COP8 a well recognized and well attended side event took place. It was organised by ENDA Tiers Monde and IRADe (Integrated Research for Action and Development), sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“Is the Gender Dimension of the Climate Debate Forgotten? Engendering the Climate Debate: Vulnerability, Adaptation, Mitigation and Financial Mechanisms” was the title of the side event. Besides the important discussions and recommendations regarding gender and climate change resulting from the event, there are some recommendations related to mainstreaming gender into UNFCCC, like

• Climate change bodies like IPCC, SBSTA and especially SBI should ensure that this issue gets attention. A fair balance of gender participation is also needed. Perhaps a special report could be commissioned so that more information and analysis is generated.
• The future COP should have gender-specific event, not only such as this one, but more formal discussion is needed.
• UNFCCC should also ensure gender involvement in CDM projects, technology transfer, capacity building and other initiatives.