The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling decisions 36/CP.7, 1/CP.16 and 23/CP.18 on improving the participation of women in Convention negotiations and in the representation of Parties in bodies established under the Convention,
Underscoring the importance of coherence between gender-responsive climate policies and balanced participation of women and men in the Convention process, and the provisions of international instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,
Acknowledging the progress made in advancing gender balance and gender equality within the context of climate change policies and in line with the individual country circumstances and gender-responsive climate policy through the decisions referred to above, and the need for gender mainstreaming through all relevant targets and goals in activities under the Convention as an important contribution to increase their effectiveness,
Noting that, notwithstanding the progress made by Parties in implementing the decisions referred to above, there is a need for women to be represented in all aspects of the Convention process, including through membership of their national delegations and the chairing and facilitation of formal and informal negotiating groups,
Also noting that gender-responsive climate policy still requires further strengthening in all activities related to adaptation and mitigation as well as decision-making on the implementation of climate policies,
1. Decides to enhance the implementation of decisions 36/CP.7, 1/CP.16 and 23/CP.18 by inviting Parties to advance gender balance, promote gender sensitivity in developing and implementing climate policy, and achieve gender-responsive climate policy in all relevant activities under the Convention;
2. Also decides that additional efforts need to be made by Parties to improve the participation of women in their delegations and in all of the bodies established under the Convention, as stipulated in decisions 36/CP.7 and 23/CP.18;
3. Further decides to establish a two-year work programme for promoting gender balance and achieving gender-responsive climate policy, developed for the purpose of guiding the effective participation of women in the bodies established under the Convention, the elements of which are contained in paragraphs 4 to 7 below;
4. Requests the secretariat to include in its next annual report, as referred to in decision 23/CP.18, paragraph 8, information regarding the implementation by the secretariat of those decisions that include a gender approach, in keeping with applicable gender-related policies under the Convention;
5. Decides to strengthen the existing work on gender balance in the thematic priority areas set out in paragraphs 6 to 12 below;
6. Encourages Parties to support (a) training and awareness-raising for female and male delegates on issues related to gender balance and climate change, and (b) building the skills and capacity of their female delegates to effectively participate in UNFCCC meetings via training on, inter alia, negotiation skills, drafting of legal language and strategic communication;
7. Also encourages interested Parties and relevant organizations to support these training and capacity-building efforts, particularly for delegates from Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, including the least developed countries, small island developing States and countries in Africa;
8. Requests the secretariat to support the organization of these training and capacity-building efforts, inter alia, in conjunction with sessions of the subsidiary bodies;
9. Invites Parties to increase the representation of women and active participation of women in the bodies established under the Convention;
10. Decides to clarify the meaning of the term “gender-responsive climate policy” from an implementation perspective, and improve the development and effective implementation of gender-responsive climate policy;
11. Requests the secretariat to organize an in-session workshop on gender-responsive climate policy with a focus on mitigation action and technology development and transfer during the forty-second session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (June 2015), and prepare a report on the workshop for consideration at its forty-third session (November–December 2015);
12. Also requests the secretariat to organize an in-session workshop on gender-responsive climate policy with a focus on adaptation and capacity-building, and training for delegates on gender issues during the forty-fourth session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (May 2016) and prepare a report on the workshop for consideration at its forty-fifth session (November 2016). Future work could include in-session workshops on other themes;
13. Invites Parties and admitted observer organizations to submit to the secretariat, by 18 February 2015 and 3 February 2016, respectively, their views on the matters to be addressed at the in-session workshops referred to in paragraphs 11 and 12 above;
14. Requests the secretariat to prepare a technical paper on guidelines or other tools on integrating gender considerations into climate change related activities under the Convention for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for Implementation at its forty-fourth session;
15. Invites Parties and admitted observer organizations to provide information on progress made in meeting the goals of achieving gender balance and gender-responsive climate policy;
16. Agrees to review this information at its twenty-second session (November 2016) with a view to taking any necessary action needed to strengthen the progress of furthering these goals;
17. Requests the Executive Secretary to appoint a senior gender focal point, who is an expert in this subject matter, to develop and ensure the implementation of, within existing resources, an action plan for the two-year work programme on gender and climate change;
18. Invites Parties and relevant organizations to provide the means for implementing gender-related activities within the two-year work programme;
19. Takes note of the budgetary implications of the activities to be undertaken by the secretariat referred to in this decision;
20. Requests that the actions of the secretariat called for in this decision be undertaken subject to the availability of financial resources.
