Fair, sustainable and effective

'Gender equality as the basis for climate and biodiversity policies’ 

Addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis requires an integrated approach, with gender equality at its core. Without this, fair, sustainable, and effective climate and biodiversity policies are impossible, according to ActionAid Nederland, Both ENDS, CARE Nederland, Milieudefensie, Simavi, Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF), and WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform. In a joint paper, these organisations provide concrete policy recommendations and specific examples from the work of local partners in the Global South, that demonstrate what does and does not work in climate and biodiversity actions. 

Learn from the experiences of women with the impact of climate and biodiversity crisis 

On September 24, we presented this paper to the Dutch Parliament. In this paper, a broad coalition of civil society organisations provide a wide range of experiences and examples of climate action led by women, especially from the Global South, to address the impact of the climate crisis and women's involvement in biodiversity conservation. These different experiences provide valuable insights for finding sustainable solutions. The paper emphasises the necessity of integrating these perspectives into policymaking, in order to implement effective, fair and sustainable climate and biodiversity measures. 

Participation in political decision-making 

According to the organisations, it is essential that Dutch policy is designed to ensure equal rights and break down unequal power relations. They urge that Dutch policies and programs should prioritse the meaningful participation of women in political decision-making—from the local level to international climate negotiations. 

In the paper "Fair, sustainable, and effective – Gender equality as the basis for climate and biodiversity policies," we formulated three recommendations to achieve this: 

• Prioritise meaningful participation of women in political decision-making in Dutch policies and programs—from the local level to international climate negotiations. 
• Ensure that funding becomes more accessible to local (women’s) organisations and that all financing for climate and biodiversity promotes gender equality. 
• Ensure that different policy initiatives reinforce rather than undermine each other. Therefore, prioritise universal human rights, including women’s rights and environmental and climate agreements. 

This paper was also co-signed by: 75inQ, FairClimateFund, FNV Mondiaal, Hivos, The Hunger Project, IUCN NL, Mama Cash, Mercy Corps, Oxfam Novib, Tosangana, WIDE+ and WWF Nederland. 

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