From biodiversity conservation in Armenia to climate negotiations in Türkiye, campaigners are pressing governments to address harmful gender norms, redistribute unpaid care work and strengthen women’s leadership.
Biodiversity summit reaffirms 2022 Gender Plan of Action as campaigners seek men’s accountability amid growing resistance to gender-responsive climate policies.
Governments at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, have renewed their commitment to gender equality in nature conservation, while civil society groups are calling for greater engagement of men and boys to challenge discriminatory norms, share unpaid care responsibilities and support women’s environmental leadership.
The debate now moves to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled for November 9–20 in Antalya, Türkiye. A mandated high-level event on November 18 will examine how countries engage women and girls, men and boys as agents of change for socially just transitions.
The developments come amid growing concerns over resistance to science-based and gender-responsive approaches in international climate negotiations, with researchers identifying disagreements over gender equality, human rights and protections for workers and communities.
Ahead of the UNFCCC’s high-level event, YouthNet Global and MenEngage Alliance will host a November 14 discussion at the Care Pavilion on how masculinities, shared care responsibilities and gender equality intersect with climate justice.
What COP17 decided
On October 23, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted a decision, circulated as CBD/COP/17/L.2, on the midterm review of the Gender Plan of Action (2023–2030).
The decision encourages countries to accelerate implementation, invites international financial institutions to support gender-responsive biodiversity activities and requests further capacity-building and a final review.
The Gender Plan of Action was adopted at COP15 in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022 under Decision 15/11.
Paragraph 2(d) explicitly recognises the engagement of men and boys as part of a collaborative approach to achieving gender equality in biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
The provision establishes an international policy foundation for engaging men and boys in efforts to challenge discriminatory gender norms, address structural inequalities and strengthen women’s leadership.
However, the COP17 outcome sets no dedicated programme, financing mechanism or measurable global target specifically addressing men’s engagement or harmful masculine norms.
Following the decision’s adoption, Guatemala raised the need to establish a subsidiary body on gender and biodiversity, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
The challenge now lies in translating existing commitments into national biodiversity strategies, adequate financing and measurable action.
‘Men must become accountable allies’
The question of men’s responsibilities featured at an October 20, COP17 side event organised by Vital Voices Global Partnership and MenEngage Alliance’s Climate and Environmental Justice Working Group.
The discussion, titled “Taking Action for Nature and Health Together: Women’s Leadership and Inclusive Partnerships for Biodiversity and Well-being”, brought together environmental advocates, Indigenous leaders and gender equality campaigners.
Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global and a member of the MenEngage working group, urged men to assume greater responsibility for unpaid care work and challenge discriminatory gender norms.
“Protecting nature starts at home, with who cooks, who cares and who gets time to lead,” he said.
“Men must move from being bystanders to accountable allies.”
Drawing on Bangladesh’s EcoMen initiative, Sohanur argued that women cannot participate equally in conservation while carrying a disproportionate share of childcare and household responsibilities.
Vidar Vetterfalk of the Swedish organisation MÄN reinforced the call to challenge harmful masculine norms and redistribute caregiving responsibilities.
Fany Kuiru Castro of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin stressed Indigenous women’s leadership, traditional knowledge and territorial rights.
Advocates emphasised that engaging men must complement women’s leadership rather than replace it or divert resources from women-led organisations.
Gender talks lack male participation, campaigner warns
The limited participation of men in gender-focused discussions emerged as another concern during COP17.
Responding to a question from The Climate Watch during a CBD Alliance side event, Valentina Figuera MartÃnez, Gender Justice and Forests Campaign Coordinator at the Global Forest Coalition, said she had observed relatively few men participating in gender-focused discussions at the summit.
“We saw that a lot of women join these events… but you see few men joining these conversations,” she said.
“I think that it’s important to bring them on board to have more women, to have more men and boys really understanding the power imbalances and the patriarchal structures.”
Figuera MartÃnez stressed that while women experience the greatest burden of patriarchal oppression, restrictive gender roles also affect men.
She argued that bringing men and boys into discussions about unequal power was necessary to challenge discriminatory structures and advance gender-responsive biodiversity policies.
In a separate article published by the Global Forest Coalition on October 27, she called for community-led biodiversity solutions, recognition of Indigenous and Global South women’s leadership, protection of territorial rights and direct access to finance.
Her interventions highlighted the importance of engaging men in transforming discriminatory structures while keeping women’s rights, leadership and control over resources central to environmental governance.
Pollution prevention highlights shared responsibilities
The issue returned to COP17 discussions on October 28 during a side event organised by Women4Biodiversity and Vital Voices Global Partnership.
The session examined women’s leadership in addressing lead contamination, hazardous waste, mercury exposure and other environmental threats.
Participants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Laos, Armenia and Tanzania highlighted community approaches to environmental health and conservation.
Rahman pointed to youth-led initiatives addressing lead pollution in Bangladesh, including awareness campaigns, community monitoring and policy engagement.
“Solutions to pollution will not last if women are left to carry them alone,” he said.
The discussion highlighted how engaging men and boys in environmental responsibility could complement women’s leadership in pollution prevention.
The issue formed part of wider gender equality discussions at COP17, including the October 27 Women’s Forum, which examined women’s leadership, access to biodiversity finance and implementation of the Gender Plan of Action.
Science and gender rights face resistance ahead of COP31
The push for gender-transformative environmental action comes as researchers warn that science-based and human rights-centred approaches face growing resistance in international climate negotiations.
In an analysis published on November 5, ODI Global researcher Brianna Craft identified opposition from several major countries to elements of science-based and gender-responsive approaches to socially just transitions.
According to ODI, the United States is retreating from multilateral climate cooperation, while China and India are among countries opposing aspects of science-based and gender-responsive approaches to just transitions for workers and communities.
The analysis also identified Russia and Saudi Arabia among governments seeking to narrow or revise previously agreed gender language.
ODI’s earlier research examined negotiating positions between 2022 and 2025, including disagreements at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where the Arab Group and Like-Minded Developing Countries challenged gender-responsive provisions in just-transition discussions.
China and India belong to the Like-Minded Developing Countries negotiating group, although positions expressed by a coalition do not necessarily represent identical views by every member on each provision.
Russia and Saudi Arabia were also among countries that raised objections to aspects of gender terminology in climate negotiations, with debates reflecting different interpretations of national sovereignty, cultural values and gender-related commitments.
Gender equality advocates warned that revisiting previously agreed language could weaken protections and reduce the scope of gender-responsive climate policies.
The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement took effect on January 27, 2026, while its withdrawal from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is scheduled to take effect on February 27, 2027.
The Trump administration has defended its retreat from international climate commitments on grounds of national interests and economic priorities, while climate cooperation advocates warn that the decisions undermine collective efforts to tackle global warming.
ODI’s analysis places these developments within a wider debate over whether science, equity and human rights will be embedded in the new just-transition mechanism expected to be operationalised at COP31.
For gender justice advocates, the concern is that disagreements over established principles could complicate efforts to secure decent work, social protection, equitable care responsibilities and meaningful participation for women and vulnerable communities.
The forthcoming negotiations will test whether governments can advance socially just transitions while maintaining existing commitments to gender equality and human rights.
Antalya: Civil society and UN events to advance the debate
The debate is now set to move to COP31 in Antalya, where civil society organisations and the UNFCCC secretariat will host separate discussions on gender equality, masculinities and socially just transitions.
On Saturday, November 14, YouthNet Global and MenEngage Alliance will organise a session titled “Care Is Not Only the Goal, It’s the Way: An Open Conversation on Masculinities and Climate Justice”.
The discussion is scheduled for 1:15pm to 2:45pm at the Care Pavilion.
It will examine how unequal care responsibilities and harmful masculine norms affect women’s participation in climate action, and how engaging men and boys could help transform those relationships.
The session will also explore how recognising care as a shared social responsibility can strengthen gender-transformative climate action, community resilience and women’s environmental leadership.
The November 14 session is a civil-society initiative, while the November 18 high-level event is mandated under the Belém Gender Action Plan.
Four days later, on November 18, the UNFCCC secretariat will convene a high-level event examining how Parties engage women and girls, men and boys as agents of change for socially just transitions.
The event is scheduled for 10:00am to 1:00pm at Plenary Akdeniz.
It is mandated under deliverable A.3.8 of the Belém Gender Action Plan (2026–2034), adopted at COP30 in Brazil in 2025 under Decision 7/CP.30.
The plan recognises men and boys as agents and beneficiaries of change and strategic allies in advancing gender equality.
The high-level event will provide governments with an opportunity to share experiences and examine how different groups can contribute to inclusive climate policies and socially just transitions.
It is a mandated dialogue and knowledge-sharing process rather than a formal negotiating session. Its conclusions should therefore be distinguished from decisions separately negotiated and adopted by Parties.
A separate technical dialogue on November 18, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm at Meeting Room 19, will examine how gender-responsive action can be strengthened across the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification.
The discussion will cover unpaid care work, food systems, health, education and gender-environment data, helping connect the biodiversity discussions in Yerevan with the climate gender agenda in Antalya.
Evidence submissions due in 2027
The Belém Gender Action Plan establishes opportunities for governments and relevant stakeholders to submit evidence on gender-responsive climate action.
Under deliverable A.3.9, Parties and relevant stakeholders are invited to submit findings from national assessments by March 2027, including information on health, violence against women and girls, and unpaid care work.
Separate submissions under deliverable A.3.5 are due by June 2027, including evidence of men’s and boys’ engagement in gender-responsive climate action.
The UNFCCC Secretariat is expected to prepare a synthesis report for COP32 in 2027.
These are invited submissions under the Belém Gender Action Plan, not universal mandatory reporting obligations imposed on every country.
The processes could help establish whether men’s participation contributes to more equitable household responsibilities, stronger women’s leadership and more inclusive climate governance.
They could also identify gaps in existing programmes and inform future policy development.
Finance and the test of real change
Biodiversity finance remains a major concern for gender equality advocates.
Under Target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries aim to mobilise at least $200 billion annually for biodiversity by 2030 from all sources.
The framework also aims to increase international biodiversity-related financial flows to developing countries to at least $30 billion annually by 2030.
These are financing targets, not evidence that the amounts have already been delivered.
The commitments do not automatically guarantee direct access for women-led organisations, Indigenous communities or grassroots conservation groups.
Targets 22 and 23 of the framework further reinforce commitments to inclusive participation, gender equality and women’s rights in biodiversity governance.
A February 2026 joint submission by MenEngage Alliance, Women Engage for a Common Future, YouthNet Global and other partners examined how patriarchal norms influence food systems, fisheries, agriculture, environmental health and climate justice.
Gender equality advocates argue that merely increasing the number of men attending environmental programmes is insufficient.
The more meaningful indicators are whether women gain decision-making authority, whether men assume a fairer share of unpaid care responsibilities and whether institutions address discriminatory practices.
They also warn that programmes engaging men and boys must remain accountable to women’s rights organisations and must not displace women’s leadership or divert financing from women-led initiatives.
The next UN Biodiversity Conference, COP18, is scheduled to take place in Ecuador in 2028, providing another opportunity to assess implementation of gender equality commitments under the CBD.
As discussions move from Yerevan to Antalya, campaigners say international commitments must translate into measurable changes in how responsibilities, resources and decision-making power are shared.
Amid disagreements over science, human rights and gender equality, the challenge is not simply to involve more men in environmental discussions but to ensure their engagement strengthens women’s leadership, challenges discriminatory structures and contributes to socially just transitions.
