Gender Mandates in Climate Policy

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

Recalling Article 10 of the Paris Agreement,

1. Also recalling decision 1/CP.21, paragraphs 66 and 68, and decisions 15/CMA.1, 8/CMA.2, 15/CMA.3 and 19/CMA.4,

1. Welcomes the joint annual report of the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network for 2023 and the progress of the implementation of the joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023–2027 and the technology framework;

2. Also welcomes the enhanced coordination and collaboration between the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network, including through their adoption of new and improved modalities of work for advancing implementation of the joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023–2027 across their joint activities, including releasing the 2023 edition of their joint publication on technology and nationally determined contributions, and common areas of work;

3. Invites the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to continue efforts to enhance the exchange of systematic feedback on their work, including by the Technology Executive Committee taking into consideration lessons learned in relation to the provision of technical assistance by the Climate Technology Centre and Network, and the Climate Technology Centre and Network taking into consideration the policy recommendations of the Technology Executive Committee in providing technical assistance to support implementation of the Paris Agreement;

4. Welcomes the engagement of the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network with national designated entities to provide technical and logistical support to them, including through regional forums for national designated entities, and invites the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to report on the progress of the support provided;

5. Also invites Parties to explore ways of enhancing the provision of technical and logistical support to their national designated entities and improving national-level coordination, including of national designated entities with operational focal points of the Global Environment Facility, national designated authorities of the Green Climate Fund, and designated authorities and national implementing entities of the Adaptation Fund;

6. Notes the Technology Mechanism initiative on artificial intelligence for climate action, the aim of which is to explore the role of artificial intelligence as a technological tool for advancing and scaling up transformative climate solutions for mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries, with a focus on the least developed countries and small island developing States, while also addressing the challenges and risks posed by artificial intelligence, such as energy consumption, data security and the digital divide;

7. Requests the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to implement the initiative referred to in paragraph 6 above in a manner that gives special attention to the capacity needs for its use and consider how it can support the implementation of technology needs assessment outcomes and the joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023–2027;

8. Also requests the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to enhance awareness of artificial intelligence and its potential role in, as well as its impacts on, the implementation of the outcomes of technology needs assessments and the joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023–2027;

9. Notes the insufficient transfer and deployment of technology in developing countries, encourages the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to continue collaborating with the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism and relevant financial institutions with a view to enhancing the capacity of developing countries to prepare project proposals and facilitating their access to available funding for technology development and transfer and to implement the results of their technology needs assessments and technical assistance of the Climate Technology Centre and Network, and strengthening the transfer and deployment of technology, and calls for regional balance in this work;

10. Commends the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network on their continued efforts to mainstream gender considerations in the implementation of the joint work programme of the Technology Mechanism for 2023–2027, including the launch of the global roster of gender and climate change technology experts and the endorsement of the Climate Technology Centre and Network gender policy and action plan, and invites them to continue mainstreaming gender considerations in their work;

11. Notes with appreciation the information prepared by the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network on their action taken in response to the mandates from the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement at its fourth session and the subsidiary bodies at their fifty-seventh sessions and invites the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network to provide such information in their joint annual reports;

12. Expresses appreciation for the voluntary financial and other contributions received for the work under the Technology Mechanism and encourages the provision of enhanced support for that work through financial and other resources;

13. Notes with concern that gender balance in the composition of the Technology Executive Committee and the Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network has not yet been achieved;

The Conference of the Parties,

1. Endorses decision -/CMA.5,1 on the Santiago network for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage under the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts, which provides as follows:

“1. Recalls that the Santiago network for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change was established to catalyse the technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks and experts for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change at the local, national and regional level in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;

“2. Also recalls the request for the UNFCCC secretariat, under the guidance of the Chairs of the subsidiary bodies, to develop a draft host agreement (memorandum of understanding) with the host of the Santiago network secretariat recommended by the subsidiary bodies at their fifty-eighth sessions with a view to it being recommended for consideration and adoption by the governing body or bodies3 at the session(s) to be held in November–December 2023;

“3. Expresses appreciation to Canada, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America for their financial contributions to the work of the Santiago network;

“4. Recalls decision 12/CMA.4, endorsed by decision 11/CP.27, which establishes the institutional arrangements of the Santiago network to enable its full operationalization, including to support its mandated role in catalysing technical assistance for the implementation of the relevant approaches at the local, national and regional level in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change; 

“5. Also recalls paragraph 16 of decision 12/CMA.4, which states that the Santiago network secretariat will be accountable to and operate under the guidance of the governing body or bodies through the Advisory Board of the Santiago network and hosted by an organization or a consortium of organizations able to provide the necessary administrative and infrastructural support for its effective functioning;

Annex*

Memorandum of understanding between the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, on the one hand, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the United Nations Office for Project Services, on the other, regarding the hosting of the Santiago network secretariat

This memorandum of understanding (MOU) is concluded between the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) (hereinafter referred to as the governing body or bodies1 ), on the one hand, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) (hereinafter each referred to as “the Party” and collectively referred to as “the Parties”), on the other, regarding the hosting of the secretariat of the Santiago network for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.

[...]

VIII. Review of the Santiago network secretariat

38. The Santiago network secretariat shall commission one independent review of the performance of the network, including sustainability and sources of funding, adequacy of funding levels relative to technical assistance requests, timelines, effectiveness, engagement, gender-responsiveness and delivery of technical assistance to communities particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in a timely manner so that the findings of the review can feed into the subsequent review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts for determining the need for further independent reviews of the performance of the Santiago network.

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement,

[...]

9. Urges Parties and invites non-Party stakeholders to pursue the objectives outlined in paragraph 8 above and to increase ambition and enhance adaptation action and support, in order to accelerate swift action at scale and at all levels, from local to global, in alignment with other global frameworks, towards the achievement of, inter alia, the following targets by 2030, and progressively beyond:

(a) Significantly reducing climate-induced water scarcity and enhancing climate resilience to water-related hazards towards a climate-resilient water supply, climate-resilient sanitation and towards access to safe and affordable potable water for all;

(b) Attaining climate-resilient food and agricultural production and supply and distribution of food, as well as increasing sustainable and regenerative production and equitable access to adequate food and nutrition for all; (c) Attaining resilience against climate change related health impacts, promoting climate-resilient health services, and significantly reducing climate-related morbidity and mortality, particularly in the most vulnerable communities;

(d) Reducing climate impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, and accelerating the use of ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions, including through their management, enhancement, restoration and conservation and the protection of terrestrial, inland water, mountain, marine and coastal ecosystems;

(e) Increasing the resilience of infrastructure and human settlements to climate change impacts to ensure basic and continuous essential services for all, and minimizing climate-related impacts on infrastructure and human settlements;

(f) Substantially reducing the adverse effects of climate change on poverty eradication and livelihoods, in particular by promoting the use of adaptive social protection measures for all;

(g) Protecting cultural heritage from the impacts of climate-related risks by developing adaptive strategies for preserving cultural practices and heritage sites and by designing climate-resilient infrastructure, guided by traditional knowledge, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and local knowledge systems;

10. Decides that the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience includes the following targets in relation to the dimensions of the iterative adaptation cycle, recognizing the need to enhance adaptation action and support:

(a) Impact, vulnerability and risk assessment: by 2030 all Parties have conducted up-to-date assessments of climate hazards, climate change impacts and exposure to risks and vulnerabilities and have used the outcomes of these assessments to inform their formulation of national adaptation plans, policy instruments, and planning processes and/or strategies, and by 2027 all Parties have established multi-hazard early warning systems, climate information services for risk reduction and systematic observation to support improved climate-related data, information and services;

(b) Planning: by 2030 all Parties have in place country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent national adaptation plans, policy instruments, and planning processes and/or strategies, covering, as appropriate, ecosystems, sectors, people and vulnerable communities, and have mainstreamed adaptation in all relevant strategies and plans;

(c) Implementation: by 2030 all Parties have progressed in implementing their national adaptation plans, policies and strategies and, as a result, have reduced the social and economic impacts of the key climate hazards identified in the assessments referred to in paragraph 10(a) above;

(d) Monitoring, evaluation and learning: by 2030 all Parties have designed, established and operationalized a system for monitoring, evaluation and learning for their national adaptation efforts and have built the required institutional capacity to fully implement the system;

11. Affirms that efforts in relation to the targets referred to in paragraphs 9–10 above shall be made in a manner that is country-driven, voluntary and in accordance with national circumstances; take into account sustainable development and poverty eradication; and not constitute a basis for comparison between Parties;

12. Recognizes the challenges to implementing transformational adaptation for countries that have significant capacity constraints;

13. Encourages Parties, when implementing the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience and their adaptation efforts, when integrating adaptation into relevant socioeconomic and environmental policies and actions and in pursuing the targets referred to in paragraph 9–10 above, to take into account, where possible, country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent approaches, as well as human rights approaches, and to ensure intergenerational equity and social justice, taking into consideration vulnerable ecosystems, groups and communities and including children, youth and persons with disabilities;

14. Emphasizes that adaptation action should be continuous, iterative and progressive and be based on and guided by the best available science, including through use of science-based indicators, metrics and targets, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, local knowledge systems, ecosystem-based adaptation, nature-based solutions, locally led and community-based adaptation, disaster risk reduction, intersectional approaches, private sector engagement, maladaptation avoidance, recognition of adaptation co-benefits and sustainable development;

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol,

Recalling decisions 1/CMP.3, 1/CMP.4, 2/CMP.10, 1/CMP.11, 2/CMP.12, 1/CMP.13, 1/CMP.14, 3/CMP.15, 3/CMP.16 and 4/CMP.17,

Also recalling decision 13/CMA.1,

Further recalling decision 5/CMP.17, paragraph 8,

1. Welcomes the annual report of the Adaptation Fund Board for 2023, including its addendum, and the information therein;

2. Notes the following information, actions and decisions relating to the Adaptation Fund Board presented in the report referred to in paragraph 1 above:

(a) The approval of an implementation plan for the Medium-Term Strategy of the Adaptation Fund for 2023–20273 that focuses on promoting locally led adaptation, scaling up projects and replicating their results, and strengthening linkages and synergies between the Strategy’s pillars of action, innovation, and learning and sharing;

(b) The adoption of a resource mobilization target for 2023 of USD 300 million, to come from a greater number of contributors than in the previous year;

(c) The adoption of an enhanced proposal submission process to expedite the review of the increasing number of funding proposals and enable implementing entities to submit proposals under all funding windows of the Adaptation Fund on a rolling basis;

(d) Cumulative receipts of USD 1,517.20 million, as at 30 June 2023, into the Adaptation Fund Trust Fund, comprising USD 214.92 million from the monetization of certified emission reductions, USD 1,232.96 million from contributions and USD 69.31 million from investment income earned on the Trust Fund balance;

(e) Contributions of USD 282.15 million, of which USD 3.12 million from the monetization of certified emission reductions, USD 250.97 million from additional contributions and USD 28.06 million from investment income, received between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023;

(f) New pledges amounting to USD 187.74 million from 15 contributors received as at 10 December 2023 towards the Adaptation Fund resource mobilization target for 2023 of USD 300 million, to come from more than the 17 contributors in 2022;

(g) Outstanding pledged contributions from previous years of USD 148.27 million as at 7 December 2023, of which USD 67.79 million under signed agreements;

(h) An increase in cumulative project and programme approvals of approximately 14 per cent, to USD 1,060.75 million, between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023;

(i) The development of options for an Adaptation Fund policy on safeguarding against sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment;

(j) The continued implementation of the updated gender policy and action plan of the Adaptation Fund;

(k) The continued enhancement of complementarity and coherence with other climate funds and building of linkages with other constituted bodies under the Convention and the Paris Agreement;

(l) The consideration of options for reducing the carbon footprint of the Adaptation Fund;

(m) The development of knowledge products and learning activities;

3. Welcomes the financial pledges made towards the Adaptation Fund resource mobilization target for 2023 of USD 300 million, to come from more than the 17 contributors in 2022, by the Governments of Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as the governments of the Brussels and Walloon Regions of Belgium and the provincial government of Quebec, equivalent to USD 187.74 million;

4. Notes with concern the outstanding pledged contributions to the Adaptation Fund and urges Parties to fulfil their pledges as soon as possible;

5. Encourages continued and increased voluntary contributions of financial resources to the Adaptation Fund in line with its resource mobilization strategy for 2022–2025;

6. Underscores the urgency of scaling up financial resources, including the provision of voluntary support, that are additional to the share of proceeds levied on certified emission reductions in order to support the resource mobilization efforts of the Adaptation Fund Board with a view to strengthening the Adaptation Fund;

7. Emphasizes the importance of continuing to take action to promote the adequacy and predictability of adaptation finance, including through multi-year contributions, taking into account the role of the Adaptation Fund in delivering dedicated support for adaptation;

8. Recalls the importance of financial contributions to the Adaptation Fund, including in the context of urging developed country Parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries from 2019 levels by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled-up financial resources, recalling Article 9, paragraph 4, of the Paris Agreement, as per decision 1/CMA.3, paragraph 18;

9. Acknowledges the work of the Adaptation Fund in relation to concrete adaptation action in developing country Parties and in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, and requests the Adaptation Fund Board to continue supporting such action;

10. Requests the Adaptation Fund Board to continue to enhance access to the Fund and country ownership by:

(a) Considering strengthening the readiness activities for national implementing entities, considering their long-term capacity-building needs;

(b) Enhancing the accreditation and project and programme approval processes;

(c) Enhancing engagement between regional implementing entities and developing countries on regional, multi-country project design and implementation;

11. Notes with appreciation the information in the report referred to in paragraph 1 above on aggregated actual results of projects and programmes funded by the Adaptation Fund, in particular across the Fund’s five core indicators, and the qualitative analysis of successes, challenges and lessons learned and requeststhe Adaptation Fund Board to continue providing such information on an annual basis;

12. Encourages the achievement of the goals set out in the Medium-Term Strategy of the Adaptation Fund for 2023–2027 with the expectation that its implementation will generate significant outcomes in terms of promoting locally led adaptation, scaling up projects and replicating their results, and strengthening linkages and synergies between the Strategy’s strategic pillars of action, innovation, and learning and sharing;

13. Welcomes the progress of implementation of the updated gender policy and action plan of the Adaptation Fund and the commencement of the pilot phase of application of the Adaptation Fund gender scorecard and requests the Adaptation Fund Board to increase the gender-responsiveness of the resources provided by the Adaptation Fund;