Did COP29 Fail Women?

María Fernanda Espinosa

María Fernanda Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly, is Executive Director of GWL Voices and Co-Chair of the Debt Relief for a Green and Inclusive Recovery Project. She was a member of the COP29 International Advisory Committee.

MADRID – The most recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) focused on finance, but it fell short in more ways than one. The contentious negotiations – representatives from several developing countries walked out in protest – defied the odds to produce a commitment – the “Baku Climate Unity Pact” – from developed economies to deliver $300 billion in climate funding annually to their poorer counterparts by 2035. That is triple the target agreed in 2009 (and reached, for the first time, in 2022), but it is nowhere near the estimated $1.3 trillion in annual financing that developing economies will need over this period. Although the agreement represents progress, we must recognize it as merely a starting point.

But insufficient financing is only part of the problem. The reality is that as world leaders clashed in Baku amid unprecedented international tensions, the true battle being waged was for the future of climate finance – and women’s role in it. Women and children are 14 times more likely to die in climate-related disasters than men, and women comprise 80% of those displaced by extreme weather. These disparities are not incidental but are rooted in systemic inequalities. Yet the so-called New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance includes just one reference to women and girls: in paragraph 26, it “urges parties and other relevant actors to promote the inclusion and extension of benefits to vulnerable communities and groups in climate finance efforts, including women and girls.”

Women and girls’ greater vulnerability to climate change reflects systemic inequality of access to education, economic opportunities, and decision-making power. These differences are also apparent at climate-related forums. While this year’s COP was heralded as the most gender-balanced in terms of registrations, women accounted for just 35% of delegates (up from 34% at COP28). Of the 78 world leaders who attended, a mere eight were women, and only four addressed gender-specific issues in their statements.

Climate initiatives that explicitly include women have been shown to produce better outcomes for entire communities. Moreover, women are already leading some of the most innovative and effective climate initiatives globally, in areas ranging from sustainable agriculture to renewable-energy deployment.

The conclusion should be obvious: the potential for gender-responsive climate finance to unlock more efficient pathways for decarbonization, adaptation, and resilience makes it a strategic necessity. And yet for every $100 of climate finance deployed globally, only 20 cents goes toward supporting women, and only 0.01% of climate finance addresses both climate action and women’s rights.

Even so, COP29 was not a total loss for women and girls. The enhanced Lima work program on gender was extended for another decade, though without additional funding for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat to support implementation. In addition, the 27 gender-specific provisions in the final “Presidency text on gender and climate change” emphasized the vital role of women’s full, meaningful, and equal participation in climate action and the critical importance of incorporating gender considerations into all policymaking domains. The “gender action plan” that countries agreed to develop for adoption at COP30 provides a framework for progress.

Despite these commitments, COP29 fell short in addressing critical intersectional issues such as the links between gender equality, peacebuilding, and climate action. Similarly, calls to address gender gaps in skills – such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) training to access green jobs – and the care economy as part of climate action failed to make it into the final document. While the text encouraged gender-responsive climate finance and simplified access for grassroots women’s organizations and Indigenous communities, it lacked the structural push necessary to ensure implementation at scale.

To transform COP29’s promises into reality, we need clear international guidelines for gender integration, backed by allocated budgets, measurable targets, and participatory approaches to ensure effective, transparent, and accountable climate finance. High priority should be given to financing local initiatives, particularly in informal settlements, where women often lead climate-resilience efforts. Robust tracking systems – which monitor not only how much money is pledged, but also where it goes and who it benefits – are essential.

Of course, international action alone cannot close the gender gap in climate action; national policy frameworks are also vital. And here, too, women continue to be sidelined. According to the latest analysis from the UNFCCC, 82% of countries mention gender in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), but fewer than 26% include meaningful gender considerations in their long-term strategies and investments. As countries prepare their updated NDCs – to be submitted this February and assessed at COP30 in November – they must take care to incorporate gender-specific programs and policies.

We do not know whether the international environment will be any less tense when countries gather in Brazil for COP30. But we do know that the failure to pursue meaningful climate action would carry astronomical costs, as the proliferation of deadly climate disasters results in lost lives and trillions of dollars in lost output. We also know that if the fight against climate change is to succeed, it must be as inclusive as it is transformative. That is why COP30 offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on our priorities and align gender equality with the Paris climate agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The climate crisis is not gender-neutral, so our solutions cannot be. Without a consistent focus on gender-responsive climate finance, we risk perpetuating cycles of vulnerability. Thirty years after the UN’s Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action established gender equality’s place on the global agenda, we must achieve another leap forward for women’s rights, this time as a vital part of the fight against climate change.