News Archive

UNCCD COP17 — Civil Society Organizations Panel26 August 2026

Gender pushed to the sidelines at the desertification COP

As COP17 opened in Ulaanbaatar (17–28 August), the UNCCD's own Civil Society Organizations Panel said gender-responsive approaches, civil society participation and synergies across the Rio Conventions were pushed off the formal agenda before substantive negotiations even began – leaving women pastoralists' leadership largely to side events instead of the decision-making floor.

Our takeThis is the desertification COP we flagged as one of three windows this year – and the window just narrowed. Side events are visibility, not power. The real test is whether the Kathmandu Declaration's commitments on women pastoralists make it into COP17's actual outcome text.

Read at IPS News →

UN Women — Americas & the Caribbean16 July 2026

A regional data agenda for gender, environment and climate

A workshop in Mexico City brought together around 100 participants from sixteen Latin American and Caribbean countries. The result: 21 new regional indicators linking gender, environment and climate, and a permanent Working Group on Gender, Environment and Climate Change Statistics, set up with ECLAC and UNEP.

Our takeGood policy needs good data – and for too long, most climate statistics simply didn't see gender at all. This is the unglamorous, essential work the book keeps returning to: you can't manage what you don't measure.

Read at UN Women →

FEMNET2 July 2026

Why the Gender Action Plan matters more than ever

As the Belém Gender Action Plan (2025–2034) enters its first year of implementation, FEMNET argues African women remain among those hit hardest by climate change yet most excluded from decision-making and climate finance – and calls for the plan to be backed by real institutions, budgets and accountability ahead of COP31.

Our takeA gender action plan is only as strong as its funding line. This is exactly the gap Part IV of the book keeps returning to: written commitments are cheap, and the real test is always whether the money follows.

Read at FEMNET →

UN WomenJune 2026

Progress of the World's Women 2026: Gender Equality in the Age of the Climate Crisis

UN Women's flagship series dedicates its tenth edition entirely to climate. The expert group meeting report (5 June) tests a feminist climate justice framework built on recognition, redistribution, representation and reparation – and the accompanying Climate Policy Scorecard is expanding to 100 countries this year.

Our takeThe argument of Planet vs. Patriarchy is becoming the official measuring stick: the UN's own flagship report now treats gender equality and the climate crisis as one agenda. This framework is exactly what gender-responsive climate policy looks like when it grows up.

Read at UN Women →

World Economic Forum18 June 2026

Closing the Gender Gap in Senior Leadership

New WEF analysis of progress toward gender parity at the top of organizations – the layer where climate decisions and capital allocation actually happen. Meanwhile, reporting shows women now hold a majority of chief sustainability officer roles at large companies.

Our takeRead these two facts together and you see the pattern the book describes: women are given the sustainability portfolio, but not yet the P&L, the board seat or the capital. The gap that matters isn't at the entrance of the building – it's at the top floor.

Read at WEF →

Road to COP312026

Three COPs in one year – a rare window for gender in the conventions

2026 stacks three Rio Convention COPs in four months: desertification (August, Mongolia), biodiversity (October, Armenia) and climate (COP31, November, Türkiye). Advocates are pushing to bring gender equality into all three agendas at once.

Our takeWindows like this close fast. The test for COP31 is simple: does the Gender Action Plan get teeth – targets, money and accountability – or another round of "noting the importance of"? Watch the finance texts, because that's where intentions become real.