Global Gender and Climate Alliance

The GGCA is a unique network of 13 UN agencies and 25 civil society organizations, working together to ensure that climate change decision-making, policies and initiatives, at all levels, are gender responsive.

In early 2005, WEDO and IUCN came up with an idea to build an NGO-UN alliance as a united front on ‘gender and climate change’. In partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the GGCA was officially founded in 2007, at COP-13 in Bali. WEDO has played a leadership role in global and national policy advocacy, capacity building and knowledge generation, and will focus on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process and related national implementation strategies through 2011.

In 2009, WEDO partnered with ENERGIA – the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy – to coordinate the GGCA Advocacy Team. This team participated in each major climate change negotiating session, as well as a number of national and regional preparatory meetings, and supported more than 100 Parties throughout the year to advance gender in countries’ positions and submissions.

The GGCA advocacy team made tremendous progress in 2009 in integrating women and gender equality language – for the very first time – into climate change negotiating documents. Although the outcome of Copenhagen COP-15 did not produce the comprehensive, legally binding agreement we had anticipated and hoped for, eight strong references to women/gender were included in the outcome documents. WEDO believes the progress has been momentous and provides a solid basis for continuing work toward COP-16 in Mexico, as well as COP-17 in South Africa.

2009 also saw the most women ever to participate in climate change meetings – both as government delegates as well as from women’s organizations – and WEDO was pleased to help found the first Women and Gender Constituency (women’s ‘major group’) under the UNFCCC process, together with GenderCC, LIFE, WECF and fellow GGCA partner ENERGIA.

WEDO on behalf of the GGCA is currently evaluating progress made to date and assessing the team’s structure, capacity and impact. WEDO looks forward to a rigorous year ahead to ensure the gender language is not only retained, but strengthened. The first UNFCCC meeting took place in Bonn, 9 – 11 April 2010, and WEDO was on site to work with Parties and build momentum and support from governments in this next phase of negotiation. In Bonn WEDO contributed by giving an intervention and speaking at a press conference.

WEDO works with all members of the alliance to lobby governments and build the GGCA’s membership of organizations working toward a gender-sensitive international climate change agreement. For more information, visit the GGCA website!