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Gender and Climate Change Activities @ COP15 - Copenhagen 2009

Gender in the Copenhagen outcomes: half of nothing is nothing

The outcomes of COP15 were extremely disappointing. No firm and worthwhile commitments were achieved, only the acknowledgement of a declaration, which states that global temperature rise should not exceed 2°C.
During the last days of the negotiations gender language was also watered down in the various draft texts. In particular, it was absent in mitigation and financing. However, even if the gender language would have been stronger, there wouldn't have been reason to celebrate as the outcomes of the meeting were so weak.
What was also alarming is that for the first time in the history of the UNFCCC, civil society had been excluded from the negotiations in the second week of the conference.
The hope we had before Copenhagen was lost in despair. Copenhagen did not send a signal for a climate and gender just future.

The Women and Gender Constituency published a joint press release.


Gender and Climate Change Activities

Intervention by Ulrike Röhr (LIFE e.V.) on behalf of the Women and Gender Conbstituency in the High Level Segment.

Conferment of a Gender Champion Award:
1st week of negotiations:
The Gender Champion Award was given to the delegation of Finland. Finland, along with Liberia, was among the first to articulate the need for greater women’s participation in the process. It has also earmarked some 500,000 Euros to fund the participation of Southern women, particularly those from Africa, at the negotiations. Learn more
2nd week of the negotiations:
The Gender Champion Award to Ghana for promoting gender in climate change adaptation and mitigation through various means and to Iceland for including a strong gender language into the shared vision document.

Political Salon: Reflections on Gender and Climate Change
During this event, development experts drew conclusions from their organization's experience and good practice in addressing and integrating gender issues. Their recommendations were discussed in order to provide input for the negotiations, and for adaptation and mitigation actions at national and local levels.
Take a look at the webcast and watch a video of the Irate Panthers performing at the event .

Side Event: Gender, Cities and Climate Change
Gotelind Alber (GenderCC) presented the main findings of a study on gender, cities and climate change, undertaken on behalf of UN HABITAT. Take a look at the presentation and the report on the event.

Sharmind Neelormi from Bangladesh held an intervention in the plenary of the CMP (Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocoll) on behalf of GenderCC. In her intervention she was demanding that the new adaptation funds should be created additionally to ODA and humanitarian responses to disasters. A significant proportion of this fund should be earmarked to promote gender targeted and gender sensitive adaptation.
 
Another intervention was given by Andrea Guzman from CENPROTAC, Bolivia on behalf of GenderCC in the opening plenary of the AWG-LCA (Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action).