Endorsing Gender-balanced CoP Presidencies by co-signing the Joint Appeal led by International Gender Champions and 2050Today.

To this day, only five women held the presidency position at the Climate Conferences of the Parties out of thirty in total. The appeal was submitted to the COP30 President, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, aiming to disseminate the call to Member States and integrate gender-inclusive leadership and governance at the Climate COP Conferences.

The appeal called upon the Parties to ensure that the host state guaranteed full participation of women and girls, alternates the gender of the Climate COP presidency every year/at least every two years, and appoints leadership positions through a gender-sensitive approach.

Gender Concerns International stands with IGC and 2050today, underscoring the importance of this message. Women are catalysts for change and must be provided with equal chances for leadership at all levels of governance. The urgency of gender-balanced presidencies is highlighted by the fact that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change. As a result, they must be allowed to lead the conversations that bring about change.

Critically, on the last day of the conference, parties adopted the Belém Gender Action Plan (GAP) of 2026-2034. GCI welcomes the adoption of this gender-responsive tool aimed at strengthening the inclusion of gender perspectives into all levels of climate governance. While the plan lays out an ambitious framework, its shortcomings are reflected in the lack of measurable gender-responsive indicators to assess progress.

See the Appeal including all Signatories here: http://2050today.org/make-climate-cop-presidencies-gender-balanced/

Read the full statement by IGC here: https://genderchampions.com/news/press-release-make-climate-cop-presidencies-gender-balanced-a-joint-appeal-to-the-cop30-parties

See the Draft Decision of the COP 30 on Belém GAP: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cp2025_L16adv.pd