'Gender' contested at COP30: 'Equality is being sidelined'

The word "gender" has come up as the subject of charged debate with regard to the updated Gender Action Plan set for finalization at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — also known as COP30 — currently unfolding in Belém, Brazil. 

The Guardian reported last week that "hardline conservative states have pushed to define gender as 'biological sex.'" Gender justice advocates say this would represent "backtracking" and a harmful, regressive move following trans- and nonbinary-inclusive resolutions and language dating back to 2011. 

With the first GAP to guide gender-responsive climate action adopted in 2017, U.N. Women is calling for a stronger second version that, among other things, centers gender-diverse groups. Donya Khosravi and Amy Cano Prentice, both climate and sustainability researchers at think tank ODI Global, say "gender equality is being sidelined" at COP30, underscoring in an article for Context that a gender-inclusive lens is an essential tool for the decision-makers responsible for mitigating harms threatened by rising temperatures, sea levels, and environmental risks. 

According to the researchers from ODI Global, the original deadline for consensus agreement to the new GAP was missed on November 14. In a press release on November 19, the Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC wrote, "We call on those countries committed to achieving gender equality to stand with us as vocal and fierce champions in the negotiating rooms of Belém."

U.N. Women, meanwhile, readies to launch the Gender Equality and Climate Policy Scorecard, along with the Kaschak Institute, on November 20 — Gender Day at COP30 and also International Trans Day of Remembrance.