A/HRC/42/26 best way to approach climate policy was with the involvement and leadership of people. That reluctance was holding progress back and from the point of view of a small island State in the Pacific Ocean, not enough was being done. 21. The Permanent Representative of Fiji asked the States that believed in genderresponsive climate policy to consider whether they had acknowledged that women were disproportionately affected by climate change and disasters in their development programmes, national plans and climate policies, and were less likely to be consulted in the drawing up of climate policies. She also asked if women were consulted and whether cultural practices in those countries prevented effective consultation. Effectively consulting women could be challenging and it was important to avoid it becoming a tick-box exercise. Effective consultation and inclusive policymaking were crucial to avoiding the perpetuation of the cultural inequalities of the past. That could be used to change the way in which democratic processes were approached. The close connection between the drawing up of climate policy and democracy involved consultation, participation and genderresponsiveness. 22. The Permanent Representative of Fiji asked member States whether women were at the table in the implementation of their climate policies and development programmes. In relation to climate financing, she asked to what extent women were included in the drawing up and delivery of the projects under the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund. She noted that while both funds required gender-specific action plans, not all institutions demanded this. The joint publication by the Green Climate Fund and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) entitled “Mainstreaming gender in Green Climate Fund projects” included specific recommendations for gender mainstreaming in project development, monitoring and evaluation. 23. In closing, the Permanent Representative of Fiji asked whether women were prepared for negotiations and how many women negotiators there were in the processes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The efforts of Australia in training women negotiators in the Pacific were highlighted in that regard. The Permanent Representative warned against complacency based on the existence of a gender action plan, a general recommendation and an annual resolution on climate change and human rights. The effective translation of such initiatives from the Human Rights Council to other entities remained to be seen. Work was needed on policy coherence between Geneva, New York and Bonn, and specifically by Governments, to translate gender-responsiveness in climate change to national situations. 24. In his remarks, Mr. Oelz emphasized that the risks to decent work related to climate change included economic and welfare losses, damage to health and productivity, forced labour migration and the interrelation between such risks. In sectors characterized by informality and decent work deficits, for example agriculture, the vulnerability of workers was magnified by climate impacts, such as heat stress or loss of access to resources. Such risks had particular implications for women, with over 60 per cent of working women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa engaged in agriculture, whose livelihoods depended on a stable environment. 25. Mr. Oelz noted that the shifts in employment associated with the 2°C scenario would probably create jobs in male-dominated industries. Climate change mitigation policies could decrease the share of women in total employment, unless occupational segregation was reduced. In domestic work, climate change-related impacts could heighten women’s workload and expose them to health and safety risks and productivity loss. Rights-based approaches were needed to ensure that climate action was gender-responsive. Gender equality had to be established as a specific goal and focus for climate action through a just transition. A just transition could minimize the negative effects of the transition to a lowcarbon economy, advancing gender equality and decent work. Decisive climate action rooted in a just transition must be a pathway to empowerment, ensure that sectoral and occupational segregation was not perpetuated and that pay and skills gaps were eradicated. It must ensure inclusive social dialogue, improved working conditions and enhanced social protection. 5