The need to incorporate the gender perspective in the actions, initiatives and plans that are designed and carried out to act against climate change has been analysed, as well as the incorporation of the feminist agenda in this area.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) celebrates Equity and Gender Day today, and we have organized a meeting to talk about “Climate Change and Gender: Two Interconnected Realities”.

Sonia Castañeda, director of the Biodiversity Foundation; Mirian Ciscar, from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation; Rocío Rodríguez Prieto, director of the Institute for Women and Equal Opportunities; and Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda, analysed the need to incorporate the gender perspective in the actions, initiatives and plans that are designed and carried out to act against climate change, as well as the incorporation of the feminist agenda in this area.

Castañeda stressed that “climate change and gender inequality are two of the great challenges we face as a species and, however, they are rarely related. The gender agenda and the climate change agenda were not integrated until the Paris Agreement.” In addition, the director of the Biodiversity Foundation noted that “80% of the people who suffer from climate migration are women”.

For her part, Cristina Gallach, stressed that “we must congratulate ourselves because this Summit already has a woman’s name because we have managed to mobilise ourselves”, and also invited that “women are the ones who provide concrete solutions to climate change”.

After the introductory round table, the different participants were divided into four working groups where they discussed and shared experiences, using the dynamics of World Café.

In the first group, coordinated by Yolanda Fernández, from the ecofeminism commission of Ecologistas en Acción, the defence of the environment and feminism and the contributions it can make to climate change were discussed.

The second, coordinated by Yolanda Besteiro, coordinator of the Quality and Studies area of the Biodiversity Foundation, based on the preamble of the Paris Agreement that indicates that the parties must respect and promote gender equality, has worked on these questions: who restores the environment? And who makes the decisions regarding climate change?

Group three focused its debate, coordinated by Arantxa García from InspirAction, on gender differences in the impact of climate change on our realities, our bodies and our relationships.

Finally, the group coordinated by Paula Álvarez Neira, from the Federation of Rural Women’s Associations (FADEMUR) reflected on consumption and differentiated access to goods and resources.

The conclusions of the meeting, which have been compiled in a final document of conclusions, are as follows: we must encourage the active participation of women and propose new climate and development policies that incorporate the different needs, priorities and possibilities of women and men when it comes to mitigating the negative effects of climate change and adapting to it. Education with a gender perspective, the presence of women in the scientific field, the importance of language when elaborating discourse, or the analysis of how spaces are occupied must also be promoted.