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By Roman Davas-Fahey, COP29 Policy Fellow
In November 2024, I had the opportunity to walk the halls and temporary pavilions of Baku stadium alongside decision-makers and negotiators from across the world at the UNFCCC COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Conference of Parties (COP) is the world’s mechanism for navigating the climate challenge and aims to bring the voices of all stakeholders together. Under the UNFCCC, the annual COP is an intensive and nearly two-week period where negotiators representing their respective countries, as well as their negotiating groups, seek to come to consensus on how we will address the many interconnected and complex challenges of climate change.
Attending COP29 through this unique and transformational experience as a Global Voices UNFCCC COP29 Policy Fellow, I was able to observe negotiations, bilateral discussions, high-level meetings, plenaries, side events, and networking events. I sat in on a variety of sessions, where I heard from youth, First Nations and Indigenous Peoples, women, and representatives from Pacific Island Nations. A common thread amongst these sessions was that despite the leadership and the significant contributions of these voices to climate action – and the fact that they are often the most disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change – these voices remain underrepresented and marginalised in climate change decision-making processes. For example, while there were positive outcomes for gender equality in climate action, women only made up 35 per cent of delegates at COP29, an increase from 34 per cent at COP28. [1] It was also made abundantly clear how this lack of representation extends beyond decision-making to whether their needs and rights are met in policy and climate action, highlighting the urgent need for greater inclusion, representation, and intersectionality to deliver climate justice.[2]
This message was perhaps most evident during a High-level Roundtable on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ (IPLCs) traditional knowledge at the core of the climate-nature nexus. Sitting in on this session, I was able to hear from several Indigenous representatives and climate champions working on the ground, underscoring the central role and leadership of Indigenous Peoples in tackling the climate challenge. The panellists emphasised that Indigenous Peoples are often on the frontline of the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, and that the rights and knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples are critical to addressing the climate crisis and achieving climate justice. Yet, a common message amongst panellists was that there remains an urgent need to ensure the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision-making processes.
Another powerful session was Champions of Equality: Building a gender-transformative climate future in the Pacific hosted at the Australia Pavillion. This session featured virtual opening remarks from Ms Stephanie Copus Campbell AM, Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, emphasising how women and girls are disproportionality impacted by climate change, amplifying existing gender equalities. For example, as climate change escalate social, political and economic tensions, women face increased vulnerabilities to all forms of gender-based violence. [3] Further underscored in this session, was that the impacts on women are not equal.
We were introduced to the Wiyi Yani U Thangani – meaning women’s voices in Bunuba language - Institute for First Nations Gender Justice, based at the Australia National University’s (ANU). A first of its kind, this institute is elevating the voices of First Nations women and has set out to capture and respond to the strengths, aspirations and challenges of First Nations women and girls. Wiyi Yani U Thangani provides evidence that the inequalities faced by First Nations women and girls are reinforced and deeply embedded within mainstream systems and structures, which have marginalised their voices for generations. As Australia does not have a nationally consistent approach to responding to First Nations womens, girls and gender-diverse people, this institute is setting out to develop a Change Agenda to ensure there is a platform and approach for and to achieve the many dimensions of First Nations gender justice and equality in Australia.
I also heard from youth members of Plan International about their recent report, Pacific Girls in a Changing Climate,[4] highlighting the unique experiences of climate change faced by adolescent girls in the Pacific. The report examines how climate change in the Pacific exacerbates existing inequalities, due to their age, gender and status in their communities and families, underpinned by structures of oppression. In both instances, despite structural inequalities, it was emphasised that these women, girls and gender-diverse people are not passive actors, but stand at the forefront of the climate crisis, holding the solutions for transformative change.
These initiatives and sessions highlighted the need for an intersectoral approach and call for large-scale structural changes to address the root causes of inequality and climate vulnerability. They underscore the importance of Indigenous leadership, knowledge, and self-determination in shaping responses to these challenges, as well as the need for a gender-responsive approach to climate policies and programs to elevate the voices of all women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
I feel incredibly privileged to have been there to observe, learn and participate in this real-world, deep dive into multilateral diplomacy and negotiation. Moreso, I felt very lucky to be there in rooms and halls alongside so many advocates, changemakers and climate champions of all ages and backgrounds, united in calling to amplify the underrepresented voices and to put equity and human rights at the core of decision-making and action on climate change.
As it stands, there is no shortage of work to be done to ensure that those most impacted by the impacts of climate change can meaningfully participate in climate decision-making processes, and that their rights and needs are at the centre of climate action. While this COP has once again raised the “COP has failed” narrative, we need to continue to build on this platform and relevant processes. The process of multilateralism is based on several founding principles, including consultation, inclusion, and solidarity. Despite recent pushback for progress towards diversity, equality and inclusion, we need to strive for climate justice and bring everyone along together. This will require us to focus on the people and countries most at risk and address existing inequalities and historical injustices.
References:
[3] Turquet, L. et al. (2023). Feminist climate justice: A framework for action. New York: UN-Women. Available at: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-12/Feminist-climate-justice-A-framework-for-action-en.pdf.
[4] Kiribati Climate Action Network, Godden, N.J., Naidu, K., Chakma, T., Leviston, Z., Nailevu, M., Alofa, P., Merryweather, J., Karoro, R., Hu, J., Scott, P., Wrigley, K. (2024). Pacific Girls in a Changing Climate. Plan International Australia and Edith Cowan University Centre for People, Place and Planet. Available at: https://www.plan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/FINAL_EMBARGOED_PIA_PGCC_Report_2024_WEB.pdf
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The views and opinions expressed by Global Voices Fellows do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation or its staff.