26 October 2017: In preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference, taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 6-17 November, UN Climate Change issued a technical paper titled, ‘Achieving the goal of gender balance’ (FCCC/TP/2017/8). The paper highlights key challenges to achieving gender-balanced representation and participation in climate-related processes, and outlines possible options to address these challenges.

The publication provides a summary of the key decisions by the Conference of the Parties (COP) that aim to address the issue of achieving gender balance and increase the representation and participation of women in climate-related processes and activities under the UNFCCC. It provides an analysis of international frameworks that, among other things, promote women’s rights to participation and representation in public life. Drawing on regional and national experiences, the paper provides examples of measures that have been successfully applied to address the challenge of achieving gender balance.

Possible options for achieving gender balance include capacity building and awareness raising, networking and sharing experiences, allocation of financial resources, and temporary special measures.

The technical paper includes an extensive literature review, an online survey, interviews with Parties and interviews with relevant non-Party stakeholders. It also presents a review of existing initiatives created in response to internationally agreed frameworks to achieve gender balance, and increase women’s representation and participation in public policy and decision making, including Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 (gender equality) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The paper concludes with a set of options, based on good practices and lessons learned from existing experiences and initiatives, for facilitating the development of strategies at the national and international levels in the UNFCCC context.

Possible options for achieving gender balance identified in the technical paper include capacity building and awareness raising, networking and sharing experiences, allocation of financial resources, and temporary special measures. [Achieving the Goal of Gender Balance]