The MenEngage Alliance has urged world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém to confront the patriarchal systems it says lie at the heart of the global climate emergency. The international network warned that tackling climate change without addressing social domination and inequality would fail to deliver lasting solutions.
Gender and Climate Justice intertwined
The Alliance, which works with men and boys for gender, climate, and social justice, argued that men must be part of the transformation toward more equitable and care-centered societies.
“Climate justice is inseparable from gender justice,” the group said in a statement. “Transforming patriarchal masculinities and engaging men and boys as allies is essential to building a fair and sustainable future.”
Sohanur Rahman, founder and executive coordinator of YouthNet Global in Bangladesh and a member of the Alliance’s Global Climate Justice Working Group, said patriarchal norms that perpetuate inequality also drive environmental destruction.
“The same systems that normalize exploitation of women and marginalized groups also justify exploitation of nature,” Rahman told The Climate Watch. “Strongman politics, fuelled by patriarchy, are undoing decades of progress and sabotaging the global climate response.”
Patriarchal systems and the Planet
The Alliance drew links between patriarchal power, colonial legacies, and exploitative economic models that underpin global environmental degradation. It noted that traits traditionally discouraged in men, such as empathy, cooperation, and care, are crucial to building sustainable societies.
Research shows men generally have higher carbon footprints, consume more resources, and participate less in sustainable practices than women. Meanwhile, global leadership structures remain overwhelmingly male, with those in power bearing the largest responsibility for emissions yet facing minimal accountability.
A call for transformative action
The MenEngage Alliance called on negotiators at COP30 to adopt gender-transformative climate policies and ensure meaningful participation of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. It urged governments to fund programs that engage men and boys as partners in climate action, hold corporations and states accountable for environmental damage, and redirect public finance toward care-centered, regenerative economies.
“Replacing extractive economies with regenerative ones and inequality with justice is not just a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue,” Rahman said.
A Broader vision for Climate Justice
As COP30 unfolds in the Amazonian city of Belém, the Alliance’s intervention adds a new dimension to global climate negotiations, one that connects gender equality, power structures, and environmental justice.
By spotlighting the patriarchal roots of the climate crisis, MenEngage Alliance reminded leaders that a sustainable future demands not only technological innovation and finance, but also the dismantling of systems of domination that harm both people and the planet.
