2021 Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards Ceremony

In the midst of a global health pandemic, vaccine inequity and visa limitations are preventing Global South and other grassroots and civil society representatives to meaningfully participate in the climate negotiations of this year. Ambitious climate action cannot be achieved without the voices of those at the frontlines of climate change.

WECF, along with the Women and Gender Constituency, believe in the importance of gathering in spaces to foster global collaboration and agreements. WECF is also well aware of the vital importance these spaces play for countries and observers, particularly from the Global South, as these are platforms to leverage collective power and make demands to developed country Governments to meet the obligations of our global commitments to climate, environment, human rights, peace and justice overall. 

Without the full recognition of human rights, including full and inclusive voice and decision-making in all aspects of climate change policy-making at the national level, Parties will not be able to create nor implement ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The promotion of gender-responsive technology solutions and preserving local, indigenous, and traditional knowledge and practices in different sectors is crucial for climate change adaptation and mitigation. 

The last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been clear: efforts to limit the temperature increase require a systemic, deep, rapid and society-wide transition. The Gender Just Climate Solutions Award, showcases the way to achieve this in a just and gender-responsive way. Since 2015, the Women and Gender Constituency and the Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) bring together feminist and environmental defenders from all around the world who use a gender equality and women’s rights approach when implementing the Paris Agreement to fight our climate crisis. 

Solutions

Together with the Women and Gender Constituency WECF has been actively pushing world leaders to ensure just and equitable climate policies that put respect of people’s rights and the integrity of the planet first, while responding to injustice among and within countries in relation to climate impacts and resilience.

Since 2015 and the Paris Agreement, the Gender Just Climate Solutions program aims at showcasing, amplifying and scaling gender-responsive transformative climate initiatives. These locally-driven solutions promote democracy, making gender equality and women’s rights central to just climate action.

Read more about the award ceremony here