By Menka Goundan, Programme Director, ARROW

As the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) approaches in Baku, Azerbaijan in less than a month; the Asia and Pacific region continues to be at the forefront of climate change. Between 2000 and 2019, six out of ten countries in the region were identified as the most severely impacted by climate change.

According to the estimates by the UNESCAP Asia-Pacific Disaster Report in 2019, the Asia and Pacific region has an annual loss of $675 billion due to climate-induced disasters. These consequences also extend beyond economic losses that threaten food security and trigger conflicts over key resources such as land, water, food, and energy.

Women and girls in particular face disproportionate impacts due to climate change that exacerbates their pre-existing vulnerabilities. UN Women reports that women are exposed to further risks of sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), early marriage, adolescent pregnancies, and reproductive health issues as well as mental health challenges and psychological abuse.

Evidence from various studies suggests extreme weather events such as droughts compel families in countries like Bangladesh and Nepal to marry off their daughters at an early age as a means to cope with poverty and food insecurity. Consequently, higher child marriage rates are also linked with higher adolescent pregnancies, increased exposure to gender-based violence, loss of education, and other opportunities.

The Gender Equality and Climate Action Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue

On 17-18 October 2024, under the Action Coalitions of GBV, Bodily Autonomy & Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and Feminist Action for Climate Justice (FACJ) of the Generation Equality Forum; ARROW, UN Women, UNFPA, and UNEP jointly organized a Regional Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Gender Equality and Climate Action in Asia-Pacific.

The two-day dialogue with participation from a diverse group of stakeholders such as activists, advocates, climate experts, funders, intergovernmental representatives, and individuals across national governments, social movements, feminist, environment, and or climate justice, and allied organizations represented collective voices reflecting the need to integrate an intersectional lens to climate action, ensuring no one is left behind.

This space demonstrated a true multi-sectorial approach from the inception with the collective design and preparation process amongst the co-organizers over months of incubating each session and curating a truly diverse multidisciplinary voice in each of the five thematic areas: gender and environment data; adaptation; finance; nexus of gender and climate and just transition.

From grassroots and community civil society, government, and intergovernmental agencies to vertical funds, development banks and data generators all had the opportunity to participate and speak on gender equality and climate action over the two days. This regional space celebrates two important outcomes that will transcend advocacy beyond this space and continue to catalyse conversations and recommendations in other spaces:

1. The Launch of the Community of Practice on Gender Equality and Climate Action in Asia and Pacific. 

The Community of Practice (CoP) will  be a knowledge-sharing platform and will strengthen linkages on evidence-based research, policy, and practice on gender-responsive climate action in Asia and the Pacific region. The CoP will include intergenerational women-led, youth-led, Indigenous and disability-serving CSOs, climate change, SRHR organizations, human rights institutions, CSOs, research organizations, academic institutions, UN agencies working towards advancing gender-responsive climate action in the region. The CoP will meet regularly, once in a quarter to link, learn and share good practices, challenges, and solutions among respective organizations and stakeholders in integrating a gender-responsive lens to climate policy and practice in the region. The CoP will be facilitated by the Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and UN Women which will document and share learning amongst the community, and link with existing CoPs in the region and globally. You can join this space for sharing stories and knowledge, towards linking and learning by filling out the membership form.

2. The Launch of the Gender Equality and Climate Action in Asia and Pacific- Call to Action 2024

This call to action reflects our commitment to a sustainable and resilient future for the Asia and Pacific region, highlighting that the theme of the 29th Session of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties, “In Solidarity for a Green World” cannot be realized without including diverse voices from the region’s most vulnerable to climate impacts. The Call to Action, based on recommendations gathered throughout the dialogue, from both virtual and in-person discussions, aims to:

• Acknowledge and promote the significant potential of women and girls from diverse backgrounds in driving climate action.
• Recognize the key entry points to enhance meaningful engagement of women and girls in climate action, particularly as we move towards a just transition.
• Highlight the interconnection between women’s key employment sectors such as agriculture and fishery and the just and inclusive transition, emphasizing the need to support women and girls in upskilling and ensuring their access to technology, resources, and funding.

The two days and the commitment of various stakeholders to the space only solidified the importance of gender-responsive climate action for our region and emulated the significance of a collective approach in ensuring that no one is left behind in our region as we organize to accelerate the progress of gender equality and climate justice.