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Gender and Climate Change Activities @ COP11 - Montreal 2005

A shift around gender and women's issues took place in Montreal at COP11.
In preparation of the conference, a strategy paper was drafted by LIFE e.V. and WECF, identifying possible entry points for gender aspects in the climate change debate.


Women's activities in Montréal included:

  • Raising awareness and disseminating information via an exhibition booth "gender - justice - climate";
  • A written statement by the women's meeting which was handed out to the delegates;
  • Two Climate Talks on gender and climate change given at the Climate Secretariats kiosk and webcasted via the UNFCCC website;
  • The first ever intervention on gender to held in the plenary by Minu Hemmati (LIFE e.V./WECF);
  • Building women's capacity and joint strategising on gender mainstreaming in climate policy via regular women's caucus meetings and the creation of the mailinglist gender_cc;
  • Developing a future research agenda and initiating a gender and climate change research network with the workshop "Gender and Climate Change: What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Find Out?".

These activities helped kick-start a new era in women's involvement and gender issues in the UNFCCC process. After almost ten years of on-off and largely uncoordinated participation by women's organisations, the direction from COP1 had finally been found again.