COP 23

The twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held from 6 to 17 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany. A key outcome from a gender perspective was the adoption by the Parties to the Convention of the first Gender Action Plan (GAP) to support the implementation of close to 60 gender-related decisions in the UNFCCC process over a two-year timeframe.

UN Women contributed to the development of the GAP by providing substantive and technical support to Parties and observers in finalizing its activities. The GAP seeks to advance women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation and to promote gender-responsive climate policy. It also supports the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the implementation of the Convention and the work of Parties to the Convention and of all stakeholders, at all levels. It contains 16 activities under five priority areas: capacity-building, knowledge sharing and communications; gender balance, participation and women’s leadership; gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation; monitoring and reporting; and coherence.

At COP 23, UN Women contributed to substantive discussions and raised the visibility of gender equality and women’s empowerment in climate change discourse and actions through a number of events and activities. These created opportunities for discussions between women leaders, gender focal points, and focal points of other thematic areas such as human rights and disaster risk reduction. Key issues of discussion included food security, land use, and human settlements.

UN Women’s participation in events, including the Talanoa Dialogue organized by the Fiji Presidency and the high-level breakfast and dinner organized by the Mary Robinson Foundation and the Fiji Presidency respectively, were critical spaces for networking with heads of delegations for the integration of gender perspectives in the various thematic deliberations.

To showcase women’s leadership and contributions to addressing climate impacts, UN Women worked with UN Volunteers and the International Labour Organization on a One UN exhibit booth on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and participated in the Marketplace on Gender Day.