1.

Addresses the following recommendations to the Council: (a) to reconfirm its unwavering commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action and subsequent review conferences and to the range of actions for gender equality outlined therein; (b) to underline the importance of a positive outcome of the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, to be held from 14 to 25 March 2022, including through the adoption of a set of forward-looking and ambitious commitments outlined in the political declaration; (c) to ensure the full involvement of Parliament and its Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the decision-making process regarding the EU’s position at the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and ensure that it has adequate information and access to the EU position document ahead of the negotiations; (d) to ensure that the EU shows strong leadership and takes a unified position on the importance of empowering women and achieving gender equality in the context of combating climate change, and to take strong action to univocally denounce any form of backlash against gender equality or measures undermining women’s rights, autonomy and emancipation in every field; (e) to pledge its strong support for the work of UN Women, which is a central actor in the UN system for advancing women’s rights and bringing together all relevant stakeholders in order to generate policy change and coordinate actions; to call on all UN member states, together with the EU, to ensure adequate funding for UN Women; (f) to reaffirm the commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls made at the relevant UN summits and conferences, including the International Conference on Population and Development and its programme of action and the outcome documents of its reviews; (g) to recognise that women in all their diversity, in particular indigenous people and members of other natural resource-dependent communities, are disproportionately affected by climate change, environmental degradation and disasters, such as ecosystem loss, loss of access to key natural resources, malnutrition, and respiratory, water-related and vector-borne diseases; (h) to take note of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender-responsive climate action and to ensure that all climate policies and programmes reflect these impacts and aim to strengthen women’s resilience and adaptive capacities; (i) to reiterate its aim of supporting and developing the renewed five-year gender action plan agreed at COP25 to promote gender equality in the UNFCCC process, and to lead by example by committing to achieve gender-balanced representation within the delegations to the UNFCCC; (j) to vocally stress that women and girls are not only affected by climate change, but are also powerful agents of change in the climate transition; to commit to meaningful and equal participation of women in all their diversity in decision-making bodies at all levels in the field of climate policy and action as well as in post-conflict resolution; to ensure equal involvement for women in the design and implementation of ambitious and localised preparedness, mitigation and adaptation programmes, thereby ensuring effective gender-transformative climate action, disaster risk reduction and the inclusive and sustainable management of natural resources; to promote the broad and meaningful participation of civil society, women’s organisations and marginalised groups in decision- and policymaking at all levels; to encourage the participation of young people and young women in particular; (k) to take immediate action to address climate change to prevent people being driven out of their homes and communities, and thereby tackling the growing phenomenon of climate-induced displacement; (l) to advocate for, support and take concrete measures to protect women at risk due to climate change and environmental disasters, especially against displacement, poverty, human trafficking, gender-based violence and food insecurity, as well as threats to their livelihood, and to ensure that they have access to essential services and adequate and accessible sanitation, and to safeguard their physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights; (m) to step up its commitment to fight gender-based violence in all its forms, especially in the light of the increased risk for women affected by climate change; to strengthen preventive measures and ensure victim support in order to avoid secondary victimisation; to further commit as part of a regional and international partnership to help guide and fund the fight against gender-based violence; (n) to address and strongly condemn the increase in of conflict-related gender-based violence including sexual violence, especially in areas affected by climate change, through its external relations and in all human rights provisions in international agreements; (o) to advocate for the implementation of targeted gender equality measures combined with gender mainstreaming in environmental and climate change policies; to implement systematic gender impact assessments based on the collection of disaggregated data to better understand gender-specific aspects of climate change and natural disasters and ensure gender expertise in relevant climate actions and policies, including in the framework of the European Green Deal; to adopt and implement gender-responsive budgeting, practices and roadmaps to ensure adequate funding is earmarked for the promotion of gender equality; (p) to recognise the linkages between gender-responsive climate action and the just transition with a view to promoting inclusive opportunities for all in the green economy; to ensure that any policies connected with the green transition take into account gender-specific needs and do not negatively affect women, girls and people facing intersectional discrimination; (q) to commit to organising gender equality-focused training for EU officials, especially for those dealing with development and climate policies; (r) to build and strengthen the resilience of women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and disasters by investing in gender-responsive social services, health and care systems, and to ensure decent work; (s) to advocate for increased efforts for greater inclusion of women in the labour market and to improve support for female entrepreneurship in the areas of climate and environmental technology and research; to boost innovation in these crucial areas while encouraging women’s financial independence; (t) to call for the EU and the Member States to promote access for women in all their diversity to emerging job opportunities in the green transition with a view to ensuring that green jobs are equally beneficial and accessible for all; to facilitate and increase women’s access to information and education, including in the areas of science, technology and economics, thus enhancing their knowledge, skills and opportunities for participation in environmental decisions while fighting gender stereotypes; (u) to acknowledge the fact that the sectors in which the majority of the workforce is female are carbon-neutral (such as care); to take advantage of this fact and the opportunities it can offer, and to promote these sectors as a means of addressing climate change and the just transition; (v) to call on Member States and the EU to fully implement GAP III and deliver on the objectives of the priority area on climate change and the environment; (w) to protect the rights of and provide specific support for women environmental human rights defenders and ensure that violations and abuses against them are investigated and that those responsible are held accountable; to ensure that grassroots organisations for women’s rights are supported through the provision of adequate funding and the removal of restrictions that impede their ability to operate; (x) to emphasise the need to protect and promote the rights of groups experiencing multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination, including women with disabilities, Black women and women of colour, migrant and ethnic-minority women, older women, women in rural and depopulated areas, single mothers and LGBTIQ people; to work to promote the concept of combating multiple discrimination and to integrate intersectional analysis throughout all UN bodies and the EU and its Member States;