While some are touting COP28’s outcome as “historic,” and “the beginning of the end of fossil fuels,” the agreements open the door to unproven or harmful technologies such as carbon capture and storage, nuclear energy, and other false and neo-colonial solutions and loopholes. The failure to agree to a phase-out of fossil fuels also means a continued free ride for fossil-fuel powered militarisation.
A critical chance for WILPF to draw attention to the relationship between militarism, the climate crisis and gender issues, with a particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, we sent a delegation of five feminist peace activists — three of whom are from the MENA region — to advance key advocacy goals on these topics.
Here, we’re sharing an overview of COP28 key outcomes, some of our key advocacy achievements, how we got involved, highlights from the delegates, and more. For more information about our advocacy focus going into COP28, read our article WILPF at COP28: Everything You Need to Know.
Key Highlights of COP28 from a Feminist Peace Perspective
COP28 has been a COP of many firsts. It is the first COP that finally has recognised that fossil fuels are the root cause of the climate crisis, and that the world needs to “transition away” from them. It is also the first COP that had a thematic day of peace as part of the “Health, Relief, Recovery, and Peace” Day on 3 December, and COP28 saw unprecedented and persistent calls by the climate justice movement for peace and demilitarisation, with a genocide underway just a few thousand kilometres from the world’s largest climate summit.
Read on for an overview of key issues of COP28 from a feminist peace perspective.
Global Stocktake (GST)
COP28 featured the first GST, a process for countries and stakeholders to “take stock” of the progress they’re making — or not — towards implementing the Paris Agreement. While the text finally references the need to “transition away from fossil fuels”, it is not enough. From a peace perspective, the lack of calling for a fossil fuel phase out also means a continued free ride for fossil-fuel powered militarisation. WILPF and other organisations had made a submission to the GST, stressing the need for better transparency and accountability of military and conflict emissions.
The final outcome also does not include any language on conflict prevention in the context of climate justice. For example, the final text references commitments to “tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030”. Whilst this is encouraging, there is no commitment to mitigate the destructive and highly conflict-prone impacts of extracting minerals for said renewable energy on affected communities and ecosystems.
In terms of gender and human rights specific references in the GST, the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), of which WILPF is a member, notes that “although the GST does acknowledge the importance of gender-responsive approaches as the way for climate action going forward, references to protect, respect and promote human rights are largely missing from the GST decision and [do not] guide its mandates and commitments as a cross-cutting obligation (…).”
Loss and Damage Fund
On the first day of COP, delegates agreed on the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund. The Fund seeks to compensate vulnerable countries coping with loss and damage related to the climate crisis. While this is a break-through decision, the millions pledged so far are not nearly enough to pay for the existing and yet to occur losses and damages. The pledges of 700 million US dollar is a mere drop in the ocean, and stands in vast contrast to the 2.24 trillion US dollars of military spending in 2022. As well, previous iterations of the GST text stressed the “importance of approaches to loss and damage that are gender-responsive, conflict-sensitive and respect human rights,” but these were removed from the final version.
Climate Finance
While existing commitments such as the 100 million US dollar goal remains unfulfilled, there is also a lack of new financial commitments for climate ambition. Particularly high-income countries downplayed their historic responsibility, referring to voluntary contributions or the private sector to provide financial means. The provision of climate finance is a question of prioritisation: the richest countries (listed as Annex II countries) spend 30 times more on their military than on providing climate finance to the most impacted communities. This highlights the need for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will be approved at next year’s COP, to deliver on needs- and science-based demands for new and additional climate finance.
Just transition
While parties at COP agreed in the GST text that the transition away from fossil fuel energy should happen “in a just, orderly and equitable manner”, the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) falls short on providing clear outcomes. Civil society emphasised the importance of a just transition rooted in human rights, labor rights, women’s rights, and rights of Indigenous peoples. However, in the JTWP the language on these rights is significantly weakened, the importance of care work in a just transition is not considered and clear provisions for social dialogue with civil society participation are lacking.
Declaration for Climate, Recovery, Relief and Peace
On 3 December, COP28’s thematic day of peace, the Declaration was launched, along with a package of solutions — with 74 countries and 40 organisations endorsing. While it is a milestone that peace has featured as an official part of the COP agenda for the first time – the declaration has a narrow focus on providing more finance to communities affected by conflict and the climate crisis. It ignores the need to address the root causes of both: rampant militarisation. During the launch of the declaration, Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva of Colombia noted that “it is necessary to talk about global peace, otherwise we are wasting our time,” implying that initiatives such as the Declaration are in vain if countries continue going to war.
… Also good to know
- A lack of women participants at COP28 pointed to their absence in conversations about the future of the planet. Just 38 per cent of all COP28 delegates were women, while women represented just 10 per cent of the 140 speakers at the World Climate Action Summit.
- New research from the Kick Big Polluters Out campaign reveals there were almost four times as many fossil fuel lobbyists at COP28 compared to COP27! A shocking 2,456 lobbyists were admitted to this year’s climate summit. This is more than all the delegates brought by the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries.
- As the COP process does not deliver the urgently needed equitable fossil fuel phase-out, countries and activists are increasingly turning towards a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which WILPF believes to be a “climate tool for peace”. During this year’s COP, Colombia – the first Latin American country and the largest producer of coal and gas – and Samoa endorsed the Treaty, thereby joining the growing bloc of nations spearheading the push for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Our involvement at COP28
WILPF hosted and participated in a wide range of in-person and virtual events over the course of COP28, engaged in bilateral meetings with other civil society and country representatives, closely followed the negotiations, and on behalf of the Women and Gender Constituency’s Working Group on Demilitarisation and Peace, we coordinated an action on demilitarisation, amongst others.
The WILPF delegation also participated in many demonstrations of solidarity with the people of Palestine. These events shone a light on the atrocities being inflicted on Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza and made it clear that there cannot be climate justice without human rights. Take a look at some of the key highlights here and here.
Against the backdrop of the war on Gaza, and as a result of efforts from WILPF and other organisations and activists focusing their advocacy messages on the need for countering militarisation, demilitarisation is increasingly becoming part of the narrative for climate justice.
In addition to our messages being featured in ECO, the most widely read daily newsletter from Climate Action Network, the largest climate justice coalition in the world, in the media and a strong turnout at key events and actions during COP28, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, emerged from a high-level meeting stating: “It is unacceptable that the promise of $100 billion a year made by the developed countries will not come to fruition while, in 2021 alone, military spending reached $2.2 trillion.”
Similarly, Climate Action Network’s Executive Director, Tasneem Essop, remarked during COP28: “It is immoral […] that rich nations cannot find adequate funds for addressing climate impact, yet could instantly find billions of dollars, not millions, but billions of dollars to support a war on the people of Gaza […].”
There is real momentum and a real desire by many to continue centring demilitarisation for climate justice.
Highlights from the Delegation
Olla Alsakkaf, WILPF Yemen: “Since the beginning of my climate activism two years ago, I wanted to attend the COP as it is the most important conference related to climate change. It was almost impossible due to the high expenses of travel and accommodation during the conference. This year I was lucky to be part of the WILPF delegation to attend COP28 in Dubai. The conference is a great space of networking and learning. During the two weeks of the conference, I managed to attend tens of workshops and events. I felt that my voice is heard as a civil society member. I also got to learn more about the process of climate decision-making. Attending COP28 inspired me to develop my work on climate action.”
Katrin Geyer, WILPF: “This year, we have made great strides in centerting the issue of demilitarisation at the UN climate talk’s agenda. We have strengthened existing relationships with allied organisations, and built many new coalitions with activists from around the globe who experience the compounding impacts of militarisation and climate crisis first-hand. We will continue to work in community, calling out skyrocketing global military expenditure while climate finance is lacking, demanding transparency and accountability for the ecological impacts of military activity and war.”
Rula Asad, Syrian Female Journalist Network: “It is imperative to adopt an intersectional feminist perspective when addressing the climate crisis, not only to amplify the voices of marginalised communities but also to analyse the interconnectedness between the climate crisis, conflict, and militarisation during times of supposed peace. It is crucial to include the war in Syria in discussions about climate, as the Syrian context is often overlooked in such conversations. Taking a more holistic view of the situation, it becomes evident that focusing on Syria is essential to understanding certain climate crises in the Levant, such as desertification, forest fires, and specific health issues affecting women.”
Michelle Benzing, WILPF: “While some countries toasted the “historic” global stocktake, those most affected by the climate crisis were in tears. Our solidarity with those who reject this “celebration” is unwavering. If we overlook the call to phase out fossil fuels, we continue to give the green light to fossil fuel-powered militarisation. And a $700 million pledge from the parties to the Loss and Damage Fund is a drop in the bucket compared to the $2.24 trillion spent on the military in 2022. Through the collaborative efforts of the cross-constituency Peace and Demilitarisation Working Group, we will continue to highlight these discrepancies. There is momentum, and as we follow the leadership of those impacted by rampant militarisation and the climate crisis, we will continue to call for demilitarisation for gender and climate justice.”
WILPF Events and Actions
WILPF hosted and participated in a wide range of events over the course of COP28, many of which have been recorded. If you missed them, find an overview with links below.
- 30 November, Webinar — Abolishing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Weapons: Live Update from COP28 and 2MSP!. Watch the recording here.
- 2 December, In-person event at the Women and Gender Pavilion — Brave Space: Developing a Feminist Vision for Demilitarisation for Gender and Climate Justice.” Watch a video from the event.
- 3 December, In-person Action — Demilitarisation for Climate Justice “. View photos and video from the action.
- 4 December, In-person official side event —Win-Win for Climate and Gender Justice & Peace: Acting on Military Spending and Military Emissions. Watch the recording here.
- 6 December, In-person event at the International Climate Dialogue Pavilion — With military emissions now on the climate agenda, should global military spending be part of the climate finance and Loss and Damage debate? If so how?. Learn more.
- 8 December, Webinar— Some insights into COP 28: What is happening on the ground? Watch the recording here.
- 12 December, In-person event at the SDG Pavilion — Towards Sustainable Peace and Development: Demilitarisation for Climate and Gender Justice. Watch the recording here.
- 20 December, Webinar – WILPF Delegation Report Back from COP28. Watch the English recording here and French recording here.
What’s Next?
While a few state representatives, such as the President of Brazil, have addressed the different aspects of the connections between militarisation and the climate crisis, the issue remained unaddressed in the core negotiations at COP28.
It will continue to be a challenge for demilitarisation to be put on the official agenda for COP, but WILPF, together with allies, will continue to explore avenues for this topic to feature prominently in all ensuing climate talks, and follow the leadership of feminists on the frontlines.
While recognising the limits of what COPs can achieve, they are an important space for mobilising, networking, and awareness raising. Drawing on our experiences, and learnings from COP28, WILPF is planning for our participation in COP29, which is set to take place in November 2024 in Azerbaijan.
