In March, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), the UN’s foremost arena for gender equality, will for the first time prioritize as its key theme the interlinkages between gender equality and climate change, environment, and disaster risk reduction. WEDO will be pushing for Member States to tackle crucial issues—from loss and damage to ending the sovereign debt crisis—that can drive meaningful progress toward both gender and climate justice.

What’s the link between gender equality, climate change, and environmental justice?

Gender inequality, environmental degradation, and social injustices are deeply connected to the same root causes: colonialism and extractivist, unsustainable economic models. This is why we cannot achieve climate justice without gender justice.

Evidence and experience have demonstrated that women, girls and gender expansive people are among those most affected by climate change and environmental crises. Intersecting forms of marginalization mean that those with the fewest resources will be less able to adapt to climate and other shocks. At the same time, these groups hold unique knowledge—as care workers, land and resource managers, and feminist activists—toward adapting to climate change and offering alternative solutions grounded in sustainability and collective care.

What is the Women’s Rights Caucus?

The Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC) is a space for feminist civil society advocates to collectively reflect, strategize and advocate to influence the political outcomes from the CSW. It is led by a collective of organizations including Fós Feminista (formerly, the International Women’s Health Coalition – IWHC); Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD); FEMNET; OutRight International; and WEDO.

What are we calling for at CSW66?

As a co-convener of the informal, CSW-focused Women’s Rights Caucus, as well as the Women and Gender Constituency of the UNFCCC, we are calling for attention to five key issues that can help fulfill some of the broken promises from COP26 and advance a progressive agenda toward gender and environmental justice:

• Recognize and redress loss and damage, centering the most marginalized peoples and communities in addressing climate impacts, particularly women and girls;
• Commit to ending the sovereign debt crisis, to ensure fiscal space for climate action and gender equality;
• Dismantle false solutions, particularly the emphasis on net zero and nature-based solutions in the climate and biodiversity arenas;
• Advance a just and equitable energy transition, shifting from a fossil-fuel based economy to a low-carbon and renewable energy system that upholds women’s human rights and advances social and environmental justice; and
• Fulfill historical obligations to provide gender-just climate finance that is predictable, adequate, transparent, accountable, accessible and in the form of grants rather than loans. 

Read the full demands for policy outcomes at CSW66.

Participate with us at CSW66:

WEDO CSW66 events

4-5 March | CSW66 Youth Forum: Gender equality in the context of the climate crisis
Organized by UN Women; WEDO’s Mara Dolan speaking during Session 6: The Importance of Youth and Adolescent Voice in Multilateral places

March 11, 10-11am EST | Climate Finance and Feminist Activism 
Organized by: Equality Fund, GAGGA, GGF and WEDO
Register here

13 March, 11:40am-12:50pm, Apollo Theater Harlem | Feminist Climate Justice Speakout – NGO CSW Consultation Day Panel
Organized by NGO CSW with speakers from Women’s Major Group (Cecile Ndjebet, Emilia Reyes), Women and Gender Constituency, and Women’s Rights Caucus; Moderated by WEDO’s Katie Tobin
Register here (in-person attendance)

15 March, 8am-9:30am EST | Parallel event: SRHR & Climate Justice: Advancing a Human Rights Based Approach
Organized by WGC, SRHR Coalition and WEDO
Register here

15 March, 8am EST | Side event: Tackling gender inequalities for advance human rights, climate adaptation and climate justice
Organized by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; co-sponsored by WEDO 

15 March 10am-12pm EST | Strategy Session: Resisting Corporate Power and False Solutions: A Cross-Regional Feminist Climate Justice Strategy Session
Organized by AWID, PODER and WEDO
Register here

15 March 12pm-2pm EST | Parallel Event: Advancing  Gender Equality in the Context of Climate Change, Environment, and DRR for the Empowerment of Women and Girls
Organized by Ilitha Labantu; WEDO’s Alex Gordon to speak
Register here

16 March , 8:30 – 9:45am EST | Side event: Towards a Gender- and Climate-Just Economy: Financing the Climate-Care Nexus
Organized by UN Women, Mexico, Sweden, Costa Rica (TBC), ILO, GGF, ITUC, DIVA and WEDO
Register here 

16 March, 10am-12pm EST | Parallel event: Debunking the Myth of False Solutions, Towards Feminist Climate Justice
Organized by WGC, WMG and Campaign of Campaigns; Supported by WEDO
Register here

16 March, 1.00 – 2.15pm EST | Side event:Gender Equality for Climate Justice (Feminist Action Coalition for Climate Justice)
Organized by UN Women, FACJ, Costa Rica, UK and WEDO
Register here 

17 March, 9:00-10:30 am EST | Side Event: Climate Justice and SRHR: the Criticality of Women’s Leadership
Organized by UNFPA and the SRHR & CJ Coalition; Supported by WEDO
Register here

17 March, 9-10:15am EST | Side Event: Care & climate (Oxfam + Canada)
Organized by Oxfam, Canada, Philippines; WEDO’s Mwanahamisi Singano to speak

17 March 10AM-11AM ET | Parallel Event: Gender Just Climate Solutions: Envisioning Feminist Climate Finance
Organized by WEDO, WECF, FEMNET and WEP
Register here

March 21, 6am -7:30am | Parallel Event: Building a New Feminist Social Contract for Climate Justice
Organized by Christian Aid, WGC and FEMNET
Register here