COP29 Let Us Down. Feminists Won’t.
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku was framed as the “Finance COP” and the “Gender COP” — a supposedly pivotal moment to address the intertwined crises of climate change and gender inequality. It was intended to hold wealthy nations accountable for their outsized role in the climate crisis and secure commitments rooted in justice, human rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
Did it live up to its potential? If we’re being honest, not even close. Instead, COP29 delivered more of the same: power preservation by the usual players. Fossil fuel-linked leadership steered the agenda, while the voices of those most affected — particularly adolescent girls and women from the global majority — were sidelined yet again. Still, hope isn’t entirely lost. COP29 didn’t deliver the change we needed, but it highlighted the resilience of feminist advocates, including adolescent girls, determined to keep fighting for climate justice.
Feminists at the Frontlines
Feminists came to COP29 with clear, unapologetic demands: gender-responsive finance, reparations for marginalized communities, and real commitments to gender equality. What they got instead was pushback — blatant backsliding on even basic principles. But they didn’t back down.
This fight wasn’t just about advancing the rights of adolescent girls and women; it was about working within a multilateral system that is fundamentally flawed — yet remains the only tool we have to advance our goals. For now. Feminist advocates, particularly from the global majority, kept gender on the agenda and laid the groundwork for what could — and must — be transformative progress at COP30.
Gender at COP29: A Mixed Bag
To be clear: securing a 10-year Lima Work Programme on Gender at COP29 and a roadmap for a Gender Action Plan (GAP) at COP30 wasn’t nothing. These documents are important steps toward integrating gender equality into climate action, with commitments to collect gender- and age-disaggregated data and a clear process for creating a strong GAP next year. But it also wasn’t enough.
Efforts to prioritize human rights, intersectionality, and the lived experiences of girls, women, and gender-diverse people were met with significant resistance. Critical issues like unpaid care work, gender-based violence, and SRHR were pushed to the side — if not ignored entirely. This reflects a broader, disturbing trend: anti-rights movements are gaining ground and eroding hard-won commitments to gender equality. Adding to this, the overwhelming presence of fossil fuel industry lobbyists and the refusal of wealthy nations to commit to meaningful climate financing outside of carbon taxes turned gender equality and SRHR into political pawns, easily dismissed for political gains.
“We came to COP hoping to address the particular challenges faced by the most marginalized, such as adolescent girls. Instead, we find ourselves having to argue for our most basic rights and to remind States of their commitment to gender equality under the SDGs amongst others, reflecting wider trends of shrinking civil society space and retrogressive attacks on gender.” — Paola Salwan Daher, Senior Director of Collective Action, Women Deliver
For the GAP at COP30 to succeed, it needs teeth. That means moving beyond vague promises to real, actionable steps that center the voices of those most affected and embed gender equality into every aspect of climate action. It’s about making gender-responsive finance, adaptation, mitigation, and loss and damage more than just buzzwords. As Paola Salwan Daher, Senior Director of Collective Action at Women Deliver, put it: we aren’t here to push paper.
Climate Finance: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied
Addressing the climate crisis will take trillions of dollars annually. COP29’s response? A weak, loosely defined pledge of $300 billion a year by 2035, mostly in loans — not the grants that are urgently needed. Wealthy nations, once again, handed the Global South the bill for a crisis they didn’t create.
This isn’t just disappointing; it’s immoral. The Global North, responsible for most global emissions, continues to dodge its climate debt. Meanwhile, trillions are spent annually on war. On colonization. On militarization. The economic system of capitalism that is driving the climate crisis, exploiting people and land, goes unquestioned by global leaders, even though it’s clearly unsustainable if we are to maintain life on this planet.
Still, there’s momentum building. Feminists and advocates from the Global South are making their voices heard, calling climate finance what it truly is: reparations. It’s not charity — it’s the price of centuries of extraction and exploitation, owed to those who’ve borne the brunt of this destruction.
SRHR: A Critical Gap
The climate crisis is a health crisis, yet SRHR — a cornerstone of resilience for millions — barely made it into COP29 discussions. While health got a passing mention in adaptation talks, SRHR didn’t even make it onto the agenda.
This isn’t an oversight; it’s a choice. Maternal mortality and morbidity, dwindling access to contraception and abortion, lack of access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, and the ways climate change worsens health outcomes for the most marginalized among us weren’t deemed priorities.
Advocates are working to change this. SRHR belongs at the heart of climate policy, not as an afterthought. Feminists are already coming together regularly to shift the narrative, and with persistent advocacy, SRHR can — and must — become a cornerstone of future climate action.
Young Advocates Are Showing the Way
The climate crisis will define the world that today’s youth inherit, and at COP29, young advocates once again demonstrated that they’re ready to lead.
For first-time youth attendee Maria Antonia Dezidério, COP29 was both daunting and transformative: “It was layered, fast-paced, and challenging at times, but it offered me a chance to engage directly with key negotiations on carbon markets and gender in climate texts.”
Young feminists like Dezidério are already driving bold climate action through civil society, but their limited inclusion on official delegations is a missed opportunity. Expanding youth representation in decision-making spaces isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s how we ensure negotiations reflect the realities of those most affected.
Their courage and persistence remind us that the future isn’t written yet. Young people are writing it.
Looking Ahead: COP30 Must Be Different
As we gear up for COP30, here’s what needs to happen:
- A Gender Action Plan With Teeth: Address unpaid care work, gender-based violence, SRHR, and the deep-rooted patriarchal stereotypes and values made worse by the climate crisis.
- Reparative Climate Finance: Grants, not loans. Wealthy nations must pay their climate debt and adequately fund loss and damage.
- SRHR at the Forefront: The climate crisis is a health crisis — policies need to reflect that.
- Youth Leadership: Young feminists deserve full access to decision-making spaces.
- Human-Rights-Based Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): National climate plans must be inclusive and prioritize health, SRHR, and gender equality.
COP29 didn’t redefine global climate action or finance the way it could have. But it proved one thing: the fight for climate justice isn’t going anywhere. Feminists from around the world, led by young advocates from the global majority, brought clarity, courage, and actionable solutions to the table.
The Global South doesn’t need loans — it demands reparations. Feminists don’t need more empty promises — they demand power to shape decisions. COP30 must be a turning point. The stakes couldn’t be higher: our survival — and the planet’s — depends on it.
