Mr. Niall McLoughlin:

It is fair to say that Ireland's long-standing support for climate justice and adaptation recognises that women and girls and, indeed, LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by climate change, and more vulnerable to the shocks and stresses associated with current and future climate change. In the context of COP, since 2012, gender and climate change have been stand-alone agenda items. Therefore, this is a form of recognition that a gender-responsive approach to climate action reduces the potential for pre-existing equalities to continue in a green transition at a state and smaller-scale project level. As the Deputy said, this is done through the identification of gaps and needs and the collection of this aggregated data.

In 2019, COP25 successfully reviewed and concluded the Lima work programme on gender and adopted an enhanced working programme, as well as a new gender action plan. Since then, the gender action plan offers a framework for actions of parties and observers, including mandated activities across priority areas.