Climate action for gender equality in Latin America and the Caribbean Resilience and environmental governance in the face of the climate crisis

Fecha: 25 de junio de 2026

In her opening remarks, Bibiana Aido Almagro, Regional Director of UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, emphasized that the climate crisis is also a crisis of equality, as it deepens the inequalities affecting women and girls, particularly those living in situations of poverty, discrimination, rural areas and social exclusion. She recalled that the past eleven years have been the warmest on record and warned that Latin America and the Caribbean is facing a convergence of environmental crises that threaten biodiversity, intensify socio-environmental conflicts and disproportionately affect women and girls. She also reaffirmed that there can be no just ecological transition without gender equality, highlighting the importance of strengthening women's participation in environmental governance and advancing the implementation of the Escazú Agreement to ensure access to information, public participation, environmental justice and the protection of environmental human rights defenders. 

Nidya Pesántez, UN Women Representative in Guatemala and Coordinator of the Regional Hub on Gender, Environment and Climate Justice, highlighted the importance of understanding the environmental crisis through a holistic lens that recognizes the interconnections between climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, as well as their differentiated impacts on women and men. She stressed the importance of strengthening evidence generation and data collection to inform more effective public policies, while promoting the integration of scientific knowledge with traditional and community knowledge to advance more inclusive and effective climate responses.  

The dialogue with participating organizations revealed a broad consensus: women are not only disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, but also play a critical role in protecting territories, conserving biodiversity, safeguarding water resources, promoting sustainable food systems and strengthening community resilience. Drawing on diverse experiences from rural, Indigenous, Afro-descendant, Amazonian, urban and community contexts, participants emphasized that the climate crisis exacerbates longstanding inequalities and disproportionately impacts those facing the greatest barriers to accessing resources, climate finance and decision-making spaces.

Participants agreed that women's participation must go beyond consultation processes and translate into meaningful influence over public policymaking, resource allocation and environmental governance. As Juana Toledo, from the Kaqchikel Maya People's Council of Guatemala, noted: "There can be no just climate governance if decisions continue to be made without the meaningful participation of women, Indigenous Peoples and the communities on the frontlines of defending their territories. We need permanent mechanisms to ensure that our voices are heard and that they have real influence in international decision-making processes."Participants also called for greater recognition of traditional, community-based and territorial knowledge as an essential pillar of climate action, working in complementarity with scientific evidence to develop more inclusive, effective and sustainable responses to the climate crisis.  

Another key theme was the urgent need to strengthen the comprehensive protection of women environmental and territorial defenders in the face of increasing violence, criminalization and threats linked to their work. As Genith Quitiaquez, member of the National Coordination of Indigenous Women of Colombia, emphasized: "There can be no climate justice without protecting the women who defend their territories. Climate action must integrate care, gender, peace, and collective rights." Participants raised concerns about the impacts of extractive development models, institutional weaknesses, and the shrinking civic space across the region. They also underscored the importance of advancing the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement, the first legally binding regional environmental treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean. They welcomed the recent strengthening of the Agreement through the incorporation of a gender perspective, recognizing it as a significant step forward in protecting women environmental defenders and other people in situations of heightened vulnerability.

Participants also underscored the importance of implementing the main international commitments adopted in Rio during the 1992 Earth Summit, which focuses on climate change, biodiversity, and combating desertification. They called for integrated responses based on gender equality, a broad intersectional approach, human rights, and the full and effective participation of women in the design, implementation and monitoring of public policies.

They also highlighted the need to strengthen climate governance based on accountability, corporate due diligence and the protection of human rights, particularly in territories affected by extractive activities and other high-impact projects.  

Participants also expressed concern about the persistent gaps in access to climate finance for women, particularly Indigenous, Afro-descendant and grassroots women's organizations. As Terry Dale Ince, member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) from Trinidad and Tobago, noted: "Women's organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean have spent years defending human rights, protecting territories and advancing climate action. Yet they face increasingly limited funding and shrinking spaces for participation, precisely at a time when the scale of the climate crisis calls for strengthening not diminishing their leadership and influence."  

As a matter of fact, in 2019, only USD 778 million approximately 0.04 per cent of climate-related Official Development Assistance (ODA) had gender equality as its principal objective. In addition, only 0.22 per cent of climate-related ODA reached women's rights organizations directly, while less than 1 per cent of climate finance was channeled directly to Indigenous Peoples and local communities between 2011 and 2020. They recalled that, despite the central role women play in climate change adaptation and the protection of territories, funding for women-led initiatives remains insufficient, underscoring the need to transform the climate finance architecture to ensure more equitable access to resources and decision-making spaces. In this regard, Luz Haro, from the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Rural Women Organizations (RED LAC), emphasized that "it will not be possible to advance climate justice if climate finance continues to bypass grassroots community organizations. Recognizing the distinct realities of rural women also means ensuring their effective access to resources."

Participants also agreed that strengthening environmental education, promoting the exchange of knowledge and good practices, and building stronger partnerships among organizations, communities and institutions are essential to expanding women's leadership and meaningful participation in climate action and in the development of more just, inclusive and sustainable responses.

The webinar concluded with a call to strengthen collaboration among UN Women, women's organizations, feminist movements, environmental organizations, civil society and governments to advance responses to the climate crisis grounded in human rights, gender equality and environmental justice. Participants agreed that accelerating a just transition requires recognizing and strengthening the leadership of women in all their diversity, expanding their access to climate finance and ensuring their meaningful participation in environmental decision-making. In this context, UN Women reaffirmed its commitment to continue promoting dialogue and knowledge exchange, strengthening evidence generation, and building strategic partnerships that contribute to more inclusive, resilient and transformative climate action.