By Marina Grossi*<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women have made history on the sustainability agenda. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, spearheaded the 1987 Brundtland Report, which provided the definition we know as "sustainable development"\u2014development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. French diplomat Laurence Tubiana is known as the architect of the Paris Agreement and led the treaty's negotiations alongside Costa Rican Christiana Figueres. In Brazil, Marina Silva's leadership led to a historic reduction in deforestation rates; and Ana Toni, as CEO of COP30, was a key figure in promoting innovative climate solutions and mobilizing stakeholders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many other examples of women leading this agenda. For a very simple reason: the climate crisis does not affect women and men in the same way. The impacts of extreme weather events amplify existing gender inequalities, threaten livelihoods, and pose risks to health and safety. The UN Women's Gender Snapshot 2025 report indicates that, by 2050, climate change could push up to 158.3 million more women and girls into extreme poverty (a situation in which they survive on up to US$$ 2.15 per day) worldwide. The female perspective is underrepresented in countries' climate plans: only 25 countries have established mechanisms, such as task forces or working groups, to integrate gender equality into the formulation of climate-related public policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
COP30 signaled an important step forward in this direction with the approval of the Bel\u00e9m Gender Action Plan (GAP 2026-2034), which will guide decisions regarding gender justice over the next decade. The plan reinforces that the impacts of climate change are not neutral and disproportionately affect women and girls, especially Indigenous, Black, riverside, Quilombola, farming, and migrant women. The document recognizes structurally excluded groups, highlights the role of environmental defenders as central agents of climate action, and opens space for countries that are part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to present proposals addressing issues such as care work, women's health, and violence against women and girls in the context of the climate crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The goal is that, throughout the decade, the GAP 2026-2034 will contribute to the formulation of guidelines that recognize the role of women in climate adaptation, mitigation, and governance. The plan is the result of an unprecedented collaboration in the history of climate COPs, involving women's organizations and movements, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty), and the Ministry of Women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Bel\u00e9m represented a space for connection between various initiatives from a female perspective. One example was the Voices of the Biomes project, which brought together three Special Envoys from COP30 \u2013 Janja Lula da Silva (Women), Denise Dora (Human Rights and Just Transition) and Jurema Werneck (Racial Equality and Peripheries) \u2013 who, throughout last year, visited the six Brazilian biomes to learn about climate solutions developed by women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another highlight was the Women Leading on Climate (WLOC) Declaration, an unprecedented initiative that brings together female leaders to ensure that the gender, justice, and equity agenda was brought to COP30. The international movement emerged under the leadership of Catherine McKenna, former Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, and Mar\u00eda Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, and in Brazil it is represented by myself and the president of the Climate and Society Institute (ICS), Maria Netto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October, during the pre-COP period, WLOC presented a declaration resulting from a six-month consultation and mobilization effort, involving more than 300 women working in the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors. This declaration identified 250 women-led initiatives across various fronts of climate transition in the country. The Declaration's objective was to raise the issue at a strategic level at COP30, in order to expand women's participation and decision-making power in climate governance, ensure equitable access to financing, strengthen the production of gender-sensitive data, and value local and nature-based solutions led by women and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clamor from women at COP30 for greater participation and decision-making power resonates at a challenging time \u2013 and not just on the climate agenda. Brazil is experiencing an alarming surge in violence against women, ranking a dishonorable fifth among the countries that kill the most women. Between January and November 2025, 1,357 women were victims of femicide, an average of four cases per day. If attempted femicides are included, the number exceeds 4,790 cases during that period, according to the Ministry of Justice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These data reinforce the need to strengthen public policies, protection mechanisms, and spaces for participation that guarantee safety, dignity, and equality for women. The transition to a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous development model depends directly on gender equity, an essential condition for addressing climate, social, and economic challenges in an integrated way. Advancing this agenda requires collective commitment and structural changes that increase the effectiveness of solutions and ensure lasting results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
* Marina Grossi is the president of CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), an organization with 28 years of experience and 120 large member companies, and Special Envoy of the COP30 Presidency for the Business Sector.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Marina Grossi* Mulheres t\u00eam feito hist\u00f3ria na agenda da sustentabilidade. Gro Harlem Brundtland, ex-primeira-ministra da Noruega, encabe\u00e7ou em 1987 o Relat\u00f3rio Brundtland, que trouxe a defini\u00e7\u00e3o que conhecemos de \u201cdesenvolvimento sustent\u00e1vel\u201d – aquele capaz de atender \u00e0s necessidades do presente sem comprometer a capacidade das gera\u00e7\u00f5es futuras de atenderem \u00e0s suas pr\u00f3prias necessidades. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36173,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"categories":[12,17],"class_list":["post-38473","artigo","type-artigo","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impacto-social","category-net-zero"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n