Decoding COP28 for India: Assessing the Inclusivity of Climate Action

KAKALI DAS

Ms. Kalyani Raj, President of the All India Women Council, brings a wealth of experience in Gender and Climate Change, emphasizing Disaster Preparedness, Adaptation, Mitigation, and Alternate Energy.

She has dedicated efforts to COVID-19, and for over and decade, worked with the All India Women’s Conference and actively participated in UNFCCC processes, engaging closely with the Women and Gender Constituency.

In a recent discussion by CANSA and Sphere India on December 20^th on the role of COP28 for India, Kalyani shared strategies for inclusive climate action from a Gender Perspective. While COP28 aimed to be the most inclusive yet, involving Women, Indigenous People, youth, and local communities, the extent of inclusivity is debatable, according to Kalyani.

Particularly, this Cop28 was supposed to be the most inclusive ever COP by working in collaboration with Women, Indigenous Peoples, Youth and Local Communities from developing and developed countries, and in fact in many ways it was, as Kalyani said.

Positive outcomes included increased participation from local communities, particularly youths, and several noteworthy announcements, such as a 3-year support package for financial assistance to farmers and local communities.

Ministers from more than 25 countries convened the first ever COP ministerial dialogue on building resilient food systems; the first youth stocktake during the flagship Youth, Children and Skills and Education Day was held; and over 60 countries signed the gender responsive Just Transitions in Climate Action Partnership; the package of actions on dada, finance and equal opportunities is up for implementation before COP31.

And the most crucial agenda of COP28 was that the Global Stocktake or GST and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities or CBDR was stressed by many developing countries including India.

Theoretically, according to Kalyani, COP28 was inclusive, successful, but going forward is an inclusive climate action and resilience, planning strategized, agreed or decided, it’s debatable.

Decoding COP28 for India: Assessing the Inclusivity of Climate Action — Kalyani Raj

However, Kalyani highlighted some grey areas, especially in the Gender aspect. While COP28 acknowledges Gender Responsive Approaches, the final document lacks references to protecting, respecting, and promoting human rights.

Mandates under the GST do not address cross-cutting obligations, such as the collection of gender-disaggregated data in next-round NDCs. Disappointingly, significant strides in finance for human rights-based, gender-transformative, or locally led climate actions are missing.

Kalyani emphasized the need to move beyond lip-service for gender equality, asserting that women are leaders, innovators, and drivers of transformative change. The absence of gender priority in COP28 reflects a systemic issue that demands urgent attention.

Addressing resilience and adaptation, Kalyani underscored the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups like women, children, the elderly, and indigenous people. Despite recognizing the challenges, the COP struggles to agree on key elements vital for the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable, including urgent scaling up of finance and equal access to credit.

In conclusion, Kalyani sees COP28 as a step forward but expresses concern about the lack of urgency in global climate action. She remains optimistic about potential progress at the national level, citing India’s leadership role in disaster resilience infrastructure solutions and the establishment of a national adaptation fund for climate change.

However, she urges inclusive, gender-transformative, and sustainable implementation rather than mere announcements.

(Headline Image; Copyright: Annabelle Avril from WECF)

Kakali Das, Assistant Editor, Mahabahu, attended COP28 in Dubai

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