In 2015, FAWCO's UN Reps Team and Environment Team collaborated to inform FAWCO members about the proceedings of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) held in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015. The UN Climate Conference in Paris was of historic importance. While no one from the UN Reps Team or Environment Team were able to attend the Conference, we reported on what was happening. In addition to general background information on UNFCCC (and definitions of the UN’s alphabet soup of abbreviations), we posted summaries of previous UN environment meetings.
In 2016, motivated by the interest of members of AIWC Cologne, FAWCO applied for Observer status at the UNFCCC so our UN Reps could participate in Climate Change Conference sessions in Bonn. We were granted Observer status and three members of FAWCO's UN Reps Team attended meetings in Bonn in May 2017. FAWCO joined the
Women and Gender Constituency of Observer NGOs at the UNFCCC and will continue our coverage of and involvement with the climate conference process.
By UN Rep Ayuska Motha
December 14th: The past two weeks attending COP25, I have been waiting for decisions to be made in order to report on it. But even now as I write from back home, it is not over. During the first week, negotiators from all the different countries were not able to come to an agreement on...
By UN Rep Ayuska Motha
After a full week of climate negotiations which were going nowhere, it was a welcome pick-me-up to attend the Gender-Just Climate Solutions Award ceremony on December 9th. The Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards are examples of diverse, impactful community projects that showcase clever, far-reaching solutions to climate change. Although only three projects are selected as...
By UN Rep Stacey Kimmig (AIWC Cologne)
After arriving in Madrid for the second week of COP25, I sat this morning at the Women and Gender Constituency daily planning meeting, moderated by my FAWCO UNFCCC partner, Ayuska Motha, when I hear a rumor, in hushed tones, that civil society groups will come together that afternoon, to protest the lack...
FAWCO UN Rep Ayuska Motha (AIWC Cologne) joining a demonstration calling for climate justice at COP25 in Madrid. Photo credit: Annabelle Avril, WECF
Hello from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain. You may have already heard that the COP25 that was planned for Santiago, Chile was moved to Madrid...
"Beyond Labels, Beyond Borders: Advancing Rights-Based Protection of Climate-induced Migrants" was a side event at COP25, co-sponsored by FAWCO with the Rosa Luxembourg Stiftung, Action Aid, and other NGO members of the Women and Gender Constituency.
Watch the video of the event.
Today, December 10, is Gender Day at COP25 in Madrid. Women and girls around the world are demanding more climate action, and there is increased recognition of their leadership. (We're looking at you, Greta Thunberg!) However, in climate decision-making, women have not been equally represented. At COP25, the male Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) said, "there has...