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The document outlines the legal frameworks and specific entry points within the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement processes where public participation and access to information can be strengthened. It highlights the Aarhus Convention and Escazú Agreement as regional models for environmental democracy and warns that the lack of procedural rights in the Clean Development Mechanism led to harmful projects. The briefing recommends that the new Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) under Article 6.4 include robust stakeholder consultation and an independent grievance redress mechanism. It further suggests that the review of the Doha Work Programme and the updating of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2020 be used to enhance the participation of local communities, indigenous peoples, and women.

The briefing argues that empowering forest-linked communities is essential for forest protection and is most effectively achieved through tiered organizational structures that aggregate strength-in-numbers. While some progress has been made in recognizing indigenous and local community rights, overall empowerment in rural areas remains constrained by land fragmentation, gender inequality, and insufficient access to finance. The document highlights successful innovations in business development and policy advocacy from the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) and warns that while digital technologies offer new market opportunities, they may also facilitate commercial land acquisition that threatens community assets.

The report identifies critical gender disparities in Ethiopia that affect climate vulnerability and adaptive capacity, specifically regarding roles in agriculture, access to natural resources, and participation in decision-making. It proposes 13 overarching recommendations to integrate gender considerations into the NAP-ETH, ranging from addressing social norms and improving access to information to institutionalizing gender-responsive resource allocation and monitoring systems.

The policy brief argues that South Africa's 2017 White Paper on International Migration (WPIM) neglects the 'feminisation of migration,' leaving women migrants vulnerable to exploitation and violence. While women's migration to South Africa has quadrupled since 1990, current legislation remains gender-neutral, failing to address gender-specific drivers or the economic potential of women's remittances and entrepreneurship. The author highlights risks in the informal sector and the potential for human rights violations in proposed border processing centres, urging the government to adopt gender-disaggregated data and targeted protection strategies.

The document argues that 'communication and information poverty'—characterized by lack of access to platforms, media misrepresentation, and limited media literacy—is a structural deficit that hinders the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda. While acknowledging that SDGs 5, 9, 16, and 17 touch upon ICTs and public information, the authors contend that these are insufficient. They advocate for a rights-based approach to communication, emphasizing that freedom of expression must be supported by rights to privacy, data protection, and linguistic diversity to ensure marginalized groups can participate in decision-making processes.

The report assesses gender inequalities in Brazil, specifically within the context of forest conservation and REDD+ implementation. It identifies significant gaps in women's political representation, land ownership, and decision-making power in forest management, despite advances in education and health. The document recommends a gender-responsive Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), the establishment of quotas for the Floresta+ Pilot Program, and the hiring of a gender specialist to ensure equitable benefit-sharing and participation in climate funding activities.

The KawiSafi Ventures Fund achieved final fund close in October 2018 and expanded its portfolio with a new investment in Redavia, a commercial and industrial solar company. In 2018, portfolio companies in Kenya and Rwanda offset 243,622 tons of climate-warming emissions and impacted 2,962,971 lives. Since its inception, the fund has averted 455,474 tons of emissions and reached 5,539,543 individuals. The fund's impact targets were adjusted following the fund close to 1,011,900 tons of emissions averted and 10,119,000 lives impacted. KawiSafi reports a cost of $66.67 per ton of CO2eq reduced and has leveraged GCF's anchor investment at a 2.3:1 match. The fund also implemented a responsible investing policy and conducted ESG reviews, finding portfolio companies to be at maturity levels 2 to 3 on the ESG scale. Gender-specific outcomes include 49% of impacted lives being women and the training of over 2,800 women in the solar sector.

The proposal outlines a USD 499,654 project implemented by the FAO over 18 months to support Azerbaijan's climate goals. It focuses on three main areas: analyzing current policies and initiatives in the agriculture and LULUCF sectors, developing a gender-responsive investment plan and feasibility studies for climate technologies, and supporting the accreditation of a national entity for direct access to GCF funding. The project aims to address gaps in institutional and financial capacity, low private sector engagement, and the need for specific technology solutions to meet NDC targets, including a 35% overall GHG emission reduction by 2030.

The Legal Resources Centre and Natural Justice call for the full adoption and strengthening of a UNEA resolution to protect women environmental rights defenders, noting that women face acute risks including sexual assault and discriminatory laws while defending land and territory.

The document outlines a framework for integrating gender considerations into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) based on experiences in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo. It argues that generic gender integration often focuses solely on women, whereas targeted analysis reveals nuanced differences in vulnerability and capacity between men and women. The proposed approach combines policy, institutional, and technical analyses to provide specific process and technical recommendations. Key findings highlight that while legal frameworks for gender equality exist, they are rarely linked to climate policies, and women remain significantly under-represented in decision-making for climate-vulnerable sectors.

The document examines the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and gender equality in agriculture. It analyzes five major standards—Fairtrade International, IFOAM Organic, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, and the 4Cs—across six thematic areas: household food security, rights to productive resources, education, unpaid domestic labour, decision-making/empowerment, and decent work. The guide finds that while VSSs can improve wages and working conditions, they risk exacerbating inequalities if they prioritize cash crops over women's subsistence farming or increase women's unpaid labour burdens without providing childcare or gender-transformative training.

The document analyzes the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and gender equality in agriculture. It evaluates five major standards—Fairtrade International, IFOAM (Organic), Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified, and 4Cs—across six key themes: household food security, access to productive resources, education, unpaid domestic work, decision-making/empowerment, and decent work. The guide finds that while VSS can indirectly improve women's status through increased income and sustainable practices, they can also inadvertently exacerbate inequalities if local gender dynamics are ignored, such as by prioritizing commercial crops over women's subsistence farming or increasing women's unpaid labor to meet certification quality requirements. It provides specific recommendations for development organizations to implement 'gender-transformative' approaches, including providing childcare during training and supporting women's land rights.

The NAP Global Network supported Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo in conducting gender analyses to ensure climate adaptation is gender-responsive. The analyses revealed that while legal frameworks for gender equality exist, they are rarely linked to climate policies, and women remain under-represented in decision-making for climate-vulnerable sectors. The document argues that context-specific gender analysis is essential to avoid exacerbating inequalities and to unlock women's potential as agents of change in adaptation.

The NAP Global Network supported Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, and Togo in conducting gender analyses to ensure climate adaptation investments are equitable and sustainable. The process involved institutional, normative, and technical analyses to identify how gender dynamics influence climate vulnerability and adaptation capacity. Key findings highlight a gap between existing general gender policies and their application in climate planning, as well as significant gender disparities in education, decision-making, and sectoral roles. The document recommends a participatory, multi-expert approach to gender analysis and emphasizes the role of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in incentivizing gender-responsive NAPs.

The document describes a framework for integrating gender analysis into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) across six African nations, highlighting the need to move beyond binary views of women's vulnerability toward a nuanced understanding of gender dynamics. It identifies systemic gaps in institutional coordination and capacity, while providing technical evidence on how gender disparities in education, labor roles, and decision-making affect climate adaptation outcomes.

The report examines the application of FSC certification, particularly the Small and Low-Intensity Managed Forest (SLIMF) scheme, among Thai smallholder rubber farmers. It finds that certification has primarily benefited processing companies rather than farmers, who see little direct economic gain. The study highlights systemic gender inequalities, where women are active in production but excluded from governance and training, and notes that land tenure issues prevent many smallholders from achieving certification. It concludes that FSC standards must move beyond labour rights to address systemic inequalities and land rights to be effective for smallholders.

The policy brief argues that women are frequently excluded from contract farming agreements despite providing the majority of the labor, and that contracted crops often displace the subsistence crops women grow for household nutrition. To remedy this, the authors propose incorporating legal protections into contracts and national legislation, drawing on principles from consumer protection, franchising, and mortgage laws. Key recommendations include requiring spousal consent for contract validity, ensuring informed consent through plain-language summaries, and conferring third-party rights to women who perform substantial work but are not signatories to the contract.

The report examines the increasing engagement of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) with climate change, specifically analyzing their 2018 Concluding Observations (COBs), general comments, and thematic initiatives. It highlights a shift toward addressing a broader diversity of countries, including developed nations, and identifies a continuing emphasis on adaptation and procedural rights over mitigation. The document provides detailed syntheses of recommendations from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), emphasizing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women, children, and persons with disabilities.

The document outlines the progressive emergence of human rights as a crosscutting issue within UN climate governance since 2010. It details specific references in the Cancun Agreements and the Paris Agreement, the role of UNFCCC constituted bodies in applying human rights standards, and the extent to which State Parties have included human rights in their national reports and Nationally Determined Contributions.

The policy brief examines how women are often excluded from contract farming agreements despite providing the majority of the labor, and how contract crops often displace the subsistence crops women manage. It suggests adapting legal principles from consumer protection, franchising, and mortgage laws to ensure women's consent, informed participation, and direct access to benefits within agricultural contracts.