By Patricia Miranda Wattimena, Climate Justice Programme Officer, APWLD

Under the presidency of the United Kingdom, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) was conducted in Glasgow, aimed to bring world leaders together to tackle the worsening climate emergency. COP26 has been seen as a critical space to boost global efforts preventing the worst impact of the climate emergency. However, criticisms and concerns emerged even months before the Conference. Global feminist and grassroots women movements are loud and clear against the unprecedented exclusions of the peoples from the Global South at the Conference, domination of fossil fuels and other big corporations, along with the strong rejection of the false solutions emerging from the COP26 outcomes.

Women from the Global South: Faceless and nameless in Glasgow

Months before the conference, APWLD along with other feminist movements across the globe have called for a postponement of the Conference. The UK Presidency was strongly condemned for its discriminatory approach through the travel restrictions and strong push back from conducting COP26 in a hybrid model, ignoring vaccine capitalism and inequity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

COP26 is labelled as the most exclusive, whitest and most privileged COP the peoples have ever witnessed. Discriminatory restrictions and logistical difficulties led to the unprecedented absence of the peoples ignoring the #missingvoicesofCOP26 from the global south, are just a few of the criticisms leveled at the UK government. Ironically, after all the efforts including taking all the risks of contracting COVID-19 in Glasgow, civil society including women’s representatives were not able to access many of the negotiation rooms during the Conference.

As the Conference was happening, in contrast with its promises to be responsible to those who contracted COVID-19, the UK Government abandoned many COP26 participants. One APWLD member from Indonesia was left with no support and facilities from the event organiser while suffering the Covid19 infection in Glasgow. The approach of the COP26 Presidency undermines not only the grassroots women and their communities, but also member countries from the global south in their struggles against the worsening climate crisis. It has been proven that COP26 has further eliminated the voices of rural and indigenous women and other historically oppressed groups, particularly in Asia and the Pacific.

Business dominated negotiations and a breeding ground for false climate ambitions

Not only the most exclusive COP the world has ever witnessed, COP26 also gathered more than 100 fossil fuel companies along with their trade associations. Bringing more than 500 representatives coming from many big corporations like Shell, Gazprom and BP, the fossil fuel industry brought the largest delegations at COP26. The number was bigger than the combined total of eight delegations from the countries worst affected by climate emergency in the last two decades namely Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Haiti, Philippines, Mozambique, Bahamas, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Despite being one of the most critical spaces to talk about how the world tackles climate catastrophe, COP26 became heavily dominated by the industry that is causing 85% of the global climate issues. Big countries like Canada, Russia and Brazil are among 27 Member Countries that bring along fossil fuel lobbyists as part of their official delegations.

This reality of the increasing corporate capture of COP26 has been highlighted by feminist and grassroots women movements across the globe as one of the main causes of why the climate negotiations are crawling while the world is rapidly sinking. The domination of profit driven interests coupled with lack of political will of many governments, particularly the wealthy countries in owning their historical and ongoing responsibilities, shaping the COP26 as a breeding ground for false climate ambitions focusing merely on economic growth at the expense of women and the peoples on the ground.

COP26 Aftermath: Glaring concerns for feminist and grassroots women’s movements in Asia and the Pacific

Feminist and grassroots women’s movements have been loud and clear in the push for just and equitable transition rooted on feminist climate justice. The outcomes of COP26 are threatening and harmful for women and their communities on the ground. Corporations and wealthy countries are constantly pushing false narratives and blocking the negotiations for real climate solutions. Not only that the commitments and decisions are heavily anti peoples but also very weak in terms of results and the timeline of actions.

Countries’ commitment on Net Zero for instance, varies between 30 – 50 years from now while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has repeatedly warned the global community that we are set to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 and rapidly moving towards 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century if we continue with the current exploitative and destructive development model. Currently, limiting the global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius requires a reduction of at least 45% of the global emissions by 2030, less than a decade from where we are now. Women on the ground have been exposing the harm and further risks of the Net Zero narrative. The current net zero pledges coming out of COP26 rely on carbon-markets to deliver carbon offsets allowing developed countries to continue their exploitative and destructive activities while making the developing countries responsible for the released carbon in the atmosphere.

Strong pushback by developed countries has resulted in a weak outcome of COP26 particularly around the new financing facility for Loss and Damage. COP26 outcome has ignored the global outcry by not only feminist and grassroots women’s movements but also many developing countries on the urgency to address the issue. While there was no agreement and the negotiation on financing facility is set to continue, the economic cost of loss and damage in developing countries alone keeps on increasing and is reaching up to USD 400 billion a year. By 2050, the cost is estimated to be up to USD 2 trillion every year. 

For rural women and grassroots communities in Asia and the Pacific who are disproportionately affected by climate crises, the impacts of loss and damage are way beyond only economic aspects. The non-economic impacts which cannot be monetised or financially addressed such as loss of culture and ancestral land, forced change in traditional/local way of life and ultimately identity crisis of the communities, are posing bigger questions on the accountability of the polluters including the wealthy countries. The developed countries are accountable for their historical and ongoing responsibilities in causing the current climate emergency. They must drastically cut their emissions by 2030 to prevent further losses and damages, and provide financial support based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) to assist developing countries in coping with the impacts. The support given must be based on the needs, consent and determined direction of the countries in need.

Currently, 34 of the world’s poorest countries are spending five times more on annual debt payment to rich countries, banks and international financial institutions on measures to reduce the impact of the climate emergency. Despite being the least responsible for global emissions, the poor countries are experiencing a severe debt crisis to deal with the impacts. 

Despite the crises and the urgency of financing for climate solutions, the Long Term Finance (LTF) was the most contentious set of issues during the COP26 with strong push back and forth between developed and developing countries. No solution was reached on this topic, while developed countries are adamant to continue the climate financing mainly in the form of loans rather than grants. Issues around the definition of climate finance and the progress review of the USD 100 billion financing goal continue to be challenging in the negotiations.

On 13 November 2021 the Paris Agreement Article 6 Rulebook was approved after intensive negotiations for several years prior to and during the COP26. Many feminists and grassroots women’s movements have been consistently opposing the article particularly on the market mechanism approach to tackle climate crises. Feminists and grassroots women have shown the evidence and their experiences on how the market based approach have been displacing communities and oppressing women, grabbing their lands and natural resources for profit under the disguise of “climate actions”. The demand to put women’s voices and community based climate solutions at the center of the climate ambitions has been blatantly ignored by the world leaders diminishing human rights, gender equality and social justice as a core guidance in the implementation of the Article 6. 

Feminist Climate Justice: What do we want and when do we want it?

With the current pace of climate actions and ambitions alongside the lack of political will, particularly of the developed countries to reverse climate crises, we are extremely far behind our goal to stop the worsening climate catastrophe. The earth is in crisis and grassroots women and communities bear the brunt of it while contributing next to nothing to the chaos. In this critical time, we are witnessing how the Glasgow climate talks failed because of the betrayal of our world leaders. Amid the COVID-19 crises, we are on the path again to engage with the COP27 in Egypt with the hope that the next climate talks will not repeat the same mistakes in Glasgow and accelerate the world’s collective efforts to postpone the climate apocalypse.

Women on the ground have been working tirelessly to survive the boiling planet and consistently putting their demands forward for just and equitable transition to achieve climate justice. The critical need of dismantling globalisation, fundamentalisms, militarism and patriarchy for gender just climate solutions, real climate solutions that work for the peoples and the planet and not the interest of the few. As real climate ambitions, APWLD together with its membership have long demanded for system and structural change, Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future (5Fs) for just and equitable transition that focusing on:

Recognising and challenging the power structure and system that strengthen corporate capture, promoting false narratives on climate crises, enabling the elites to control land and resources of the grassroots communities.

Radical shift from massive industrial agriculture to small scale, community based agroecological practices preserving biodiversity and promoting food sovereignty. Intellectual property and patenting rules threatening women’s lives and livelihoods must be eliminated. Trade rules and agreements accelerating globalisation including deregulation and privatisation taking away women’s human rights and the power of governments to take real actions must be dismantled. 

Putting gender equitable participatory democracy at the core of the Feminist Fossil Fuel Free Future. The role and contribution of women within and beyond their communities must be recognised to help ensure their meaningful participation in climate related discussions and negotiations to advance women’s human rights and achieve feminist climate justice.

Stop promoting false climate solutions and aiming for true climate ambitions putting women and grassroots communities at the core of the collective efforts to tackle climate crises. Respect, promote and support the Implementation of community based climate solutions instead of market based mechanisms developed under the Paris Agreement that promote corporate greed and the domination of polluters sacrificing developing countries and grassroots communities.

Strengthening ambitions and implementation of National Determined Contributions (NDCs) that is upholding women’s human rights and making sure of the meaningful participation and reflection of the perspective of feminists and grassroots women in all stages including the planning and implementation of the national climate solutions.

Ensuring responsible climate financing based on the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) and historical responsibilities. The developed countries must be accountable to provide financial resources, in the form of grants and not loans, to assist developing countries in taking climate actions particularly in adaptation and mitigation measures as well as in dealing with loss and damage, based on the needs, consent, and determined direction of the developing countries. 

Provide specific financing for loss and damage to be integrated into the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC in the form of grants. The fund for loss and damage must be easily accessible and ready to be mobilised as an urgent response to the communities most affected by climate emergencies.

Promoting energy democracy that upholds community and women’s human rights for just and equitable transition from the current climate catastrophe. Fossil fuels, clean coal, geothermal and hydropower among other projects are false energy transition and climate solutions that displace rural and indigenous communities while exposing many vulnerable countries to more climate induced natural disasters and loss and damage. 

Ensuring gender responsive policy and budgeting to promote women’s human rights and gender equality and create an enabling environment for grassroots women to demand accountability at all levels.

Photo Credit: Rural Women Advocates, Amihan