Everything you Should Know about the Lima (in)Action Plan

May 16

Written By: Ellie Powell

This piece will introduce you to the UNFCCC’s Lima work programme on Gender, ask why its goals have been delayed, and put forward ways in which the targets it sets can be brought back on track.

What is it?

Way back in 2014, the first Lima work programme on gender was established. Its goal was to: ‘advance knowledge and understanding of gender-responsive climate action and its coherent mainstreaming in the implementation of the UNFCCC and the work of Parties, the secretariat, United Nations entities and all stakeholders at all levels, as well as women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the UNFCCC process’.

This action plan has five priority areas:

Capacity building, knowledge management and communication;
Gender balance, participation and women’s leadership;
Coherence;
Gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation, and
Monitoring and reporting.

Why is it important?

It is well known by now that not only are women the majority of victims of the environmental and societal damages of climate change, but they are underrepresented in all levels of decision-making. This is despite the fact that it is recognised that gender-balance in climate decision making leads to more effective climate action.

How’s it going?

The most recent UNFCCC gender balance report, found that equal representation of women in party delegations compared to the previous COP, had actually decreased. The report found that: ‘While 37% of Party delegations were women, they accounted for only 29% of the total speaking time.’ At COP27, the BBC found that women made up just 34% of the committee members in negotiation rooms. Some delegations were found to be more than 90% male.

In the latest review of the gender action plan at COP27, the global pandemic was highlighted as a reason for worsening pre-existing gender inequalities, which then negatively impacted the implementation of the gender action plan. The report urges Parties to: ‘accelerate their efforts to advance implementation of the enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan’.

The report recommended the following actions for this acceleration:

“(a) Inviting future Presidencies of the Conference of the Parties to nominate women as high-level climate champions;

(b) Inviting Parties to promote greater gender balance in national delegations in negotiation meetings under the UNFCCC, including in meetings on gender and climate change;

In addition, the report also encourages all relevant entities to direct more climate finance towards gender-based issues, to improve access to climate finance for grass-roots women’s organisations, as well as for indigenous and local communities.

What can be done?

The targets above are good ones, but the 2020 pandemic cannot take the blame for a lack of action since 2014. Global Parties, as well as public and private organisations must work harder to complete all five points of the gender action plan. The time for reporting failure to meet targets has run out, it is time to act.

Climate leaders must lift the voices of women that already exist in the space, particularly the voices of indigenous women and local communities at the forefront of the climate crisis to tackle root causes of inequality, and recognise the intersectionality of gender inequality, in order to bring more diverse women’s voices into the sphere. Here at She Changes Climate, we are tirelessly campaigning for women in all their diversity to lead climate action globally. The time for a 50:50 vision in climate decision making only becomes more essential. This must be reflected at COP28. The time is now to come together and bring a diversity of perspectives, we are stronger together!

For more information on how to join us, and take action in our 2023 campaign, visit our website: https://www.shechangesclimate.org/take-action

Resources/ Further Reading:

UNFCCC: https://unfccc.int/topics/gender/workstreams/the-enhanced-lima-work-programme-on-gender

https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cp2022_03E.pdf

Stella Gama, Priyanka Teeluck and Janna Tenzing, (2016), ‘Strengthening the Lima Work Programme on Gender: Perspectives from Malawi and the CBD’ https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep02658.pdf?acceptTC=true&coverpage=false&addFooter=false

Terra Nova, (2022), The gender imbalance at COP27:

https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-gender-imbalance-at-cop27/

Laura Cooper Hall and Ana Rojas, (2022), Climate Change Gender Action Plans: A Method for Moving from Commitment to Action:

https://www.iucn.org/blog/202206/climate-change-gender-action-plans-method-moving-commitment-action

Freya Doughty, (2022), The gold standard of the Lima Programme:

https://www.openglobalrights.org/Gold-standard-Lima-Programme/