5. Gaps and barriers

The following sections present identified gaps and barriers challenging the implementation of the UNFCCC GAP across the Nordic countries. To maintain consistency with the UNFCCC GAP's framework, the identified gaps and barriers have been categorised in accordance with the five priority areas. However, these gaps and barriers are not isolated to the distinct priority areas as segmented in the report's chapters. Rather, they are interlinked, reflecting the complexity of the issues involved. Additionally, the national approaches and progress levels in implementing the UNFCCC GAP vary across the Nordic countries, which means that the significance, relevance and applicability of the identified gaps and barriers vary for each nation.

While the Nordic region is a frontrunner in both gender equality and climate policies, policymakers risk overlooking the relevance of integrating gender perspectives into domestic climate policy. This is particularly notable in Denmark and Norway. Across all five countries, interviewed stakeholders express that the specific priority of focusing on gender in climate policy and action often comes across as limited, pointing to space for improvement in terms of both integrating gender equality in climate policy and communicating on the gender mainstreaming efforts made. One of the National Gender & Climate Change Focal Points of a Nordic country observes that gender equality in climate issues is often perceived as an auxiliary concern rather than a fundamental aspect of a just green transition. Resource allocation, political will, and prioritisation of gender aspects amidst other political priorities pose a significant barrier.

The international position of the Nordic countries as frontrunners in gender equality can be argued to perpetuate this domestic under-prioritisation, as the gendered aspects of climate policies domestically are considered less relevant than those in the Global South. As one stakeholder says: “A big problem in the green transition is that people [in the Nordic countries] feel that we have gender equality already, so we do not need to take that into account [in climate policies].”

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

Another barrier in this regard is that the policy areas of both gender and climate policy are politicised domains within the five Nordic countries – not in terms of whether gender equality and green, just transition is imperative, but in terms of what measures are needed to promote and realising it. A Danish stakeholder articulates that since reaching a political consensus on climate policies can already be challenging, integrating a gender equality perspective risks slowing down progress.

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

These barriers hinder the recognition of the importance and significance of gender mainstreaming domestic climate policies and impedes the effective implementation of the UNFCCC GAP. 

Insufficient utilisation of data poses a barrier to demonstrating the importance and relevance of gender mainstreaming climate policies to policymakers, including conducting gender analyses. While the argument of “lack of data” is encountered in this review, the actual barrier seems to be the underutilisation of existing data, and thereby also the lack of resources allocated for looking into, gathering, and applying existing data. Although not exhaustive in capturing all gender dimensions of climate policies, an abundance of Nordic data relevant to gender mainstreaming in climate policies already exists, awaiting collection and analysis. The underutilisation of data stems from inadequacies in political prioritisation, resource allocation, knowledge dissemination and communication, resulting in a lack of awareness. This lack of knowledge hampers the implementation of the UNFCCC GAP, as policymakers fail to grasp its significance and the potential benefits, as well as how to effectively integrate it.

”In my experience, the issue is not lack of information. The issue is not knowing where to find that information. As long as doing a gender analysis is not a requirement, it will get overlooked because of a lack of time or resources. Information could be easy to find through online search or through colleagues, but who will do the research?” (Ministerial Adviser in the Ministry of Environment in Finland)

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

Although tools and training for gender mainstreaming are accessible to public authorities and policymakers in certain countries, there is a noticeable scarcity – or lack – of resources specifically tailored for the gender mainstreaming of climate policies. The endeavour to integrate gender perspectives into climate policy can be argued to face specific obstacles because the incorporation of gender equality has traditionally been seen as pertinent primarily within culturally feminised policy areas such as social affairs and healthcare, policy areas highlighted relevant in the Danish strategy for gender mainstreaming in contrast to technical fields such as construction.

Danish Ministry of Gender Equality and the Church (now Digital Government and Equality) (2013). Gender impact assessments of legislative proposals.

Regarding domestic climate policy, this obstacle is perpetuated by the fact that the concept of gender mainstreaming has traditionally been performed in the realm of international development policy and programming. Thus, this review finds that gender mainstreaming in the field of climate policy – especially domestic climate policy – needs more support in terms of both political will, knowledge dissemination, guiding resources and training. 

In some instances, research centres and NGOs have taken on the role of disseminating information on the gendered impacts of climate change and policies – in a Nordic context, along with offering policy recommendations. However, these efforts are not necessarily integrated into the institutional mechanisms supporting the UNFCCC GAP, as can be said to be the case in Norway and Denmark.

This review reveals significant inconsistencies in gender mainstreaming terminology and concepts across the Nordic countries, with each nation adopting different terms and interpretations, for instance, in the concepts of gender impact assessments and gender analysis. If the gender mainstreaming concepts are clearly defined and communicated within the countries, these discrepancies do not necessarily affect internal efforts within each country. However, they can challenge communication and exchange across the Nordic countries as well as cross-Nordic evaluations and reviews, as for instance Gender Impact Assessment is one thing in one country and another in another country.

The UNFCCC GAP does not explicitly address the importance of gender imbalances in STEM fields. However, in implementing priority area B focusing on gender balance, participation, and women’s leadership, it is crucial to go beyond merely increasing the numerical representation of women in international climate negotiations, delegations, and UNFCCC processes. The underrepresentation of women in STEM fields and, by extension, in green jobs poses a significant barrier to achieving gender equality in the Nordic countries’ green transition. This disparity not only reflects existing gender imbalances in education and employment but also risks perpetuating these inequalities as the green transition progresses. Traditionally, gender representation and inclusion in STEM have been the responsibility of ministries and agencies overseeing education, business, and gender equality. Ministries and agencies focusing on climate and environment, however, may not directly engage in these initiatives. In addressing the gender imbalance in STEM fields, it is important to note that studies emphasise the importance of challenging and changing the existing structures to be more inclusive, rather than expecting women to conform to pre-existing, male-dominated frameworks, thereby failing to question any problematic gender norms, and by that falling into what could be referred to as a ‘fixing-the-women-not-the-structures’-approach.

Sand, Jimmy (2022). Climate, Gender and Consumption: A research overview of gender perspectives on sustainable lifestyles; Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) (2022). Gender norms a challenge for the green transition.

Climate change is frequently portrayed as a technological challenge. This calls for expertise primarily found in the male-dominated STEM fields, overshadowing the social dimensions of climate change and the contributions of professionals from non-STEM backgrounds. In other words, focusing exclusively on STEM risks side-lining the social dimensions of climate change and the contributions of women and non-STEM professionals in climate action. Furthermore, the absence of specific measures acknowledging the significance of unpaid care and domestic work in the green transition poses a risk of exacerbating gender inequality, as women in the Nordic countries continue to bear the burden of unpaid domestic work.

In Denmark and Norway, the absence of inter-ministerial working groups and/or agencies with gender expertise hinders the translation of the UNFCCC GAP into national governance and the coordination of gender mainstreaming of climate policies across relevant ministries, offices, and public institutions. Additionally, the limited allocation of specific resources, such as funding and personnel crucial for gender mainstreaming, further impedes its effective implementation. This challenge is not just confined to financial resources but also extends to the lack of dedicated personnel tasked with driving the gender mainstreaming agenda. The lack of coordination and resources is fundamentally a question of political will and prioritisation and can be strengthened in all of the Nordic countries.

A notable gap in the Nordic implementation of the UNFCCC GAP is the general absence of dedicated national strategies for implementing the specific GAP priority areas and activities. Sweden stands out for its draft strategy aimed at gender mainstreaming the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which is based on a national translation of the UNFCCC GAP into a Swedish context. However, such targeted approaches remain rare, highlighting a widespread barrier to fully implementing the UNFCCC GAP. The importance of a focused strategy and/or action plan for gender mainstreaming the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including objectives and indicators, is also desirable in order to ensure the foundation for systematic monitoring and evaluations, which is lacking today.

A gap in the coherence of implementing the UNFCCC GAP in the Nordic countries is the inconsistent integration of gender equality into the concept of a 'just transition' or 'socially balanced' climate policy. There is a tendency to treat just transition as primarily a socio-economic issue rather than one that directly encompasses gender aspects, thus overlooking the specific gendered impacts of climate policy. For example, in climate policy documents from both Denmark and Norway, ‘just transition’ or ‘social balance’ is emphasised without specifically addressing gender considerations. Consequently, the concepts and ambitions of the just transition are observed to lack gender responsiveness.

Another observed gap relates to the systematic implementation of the Agenda 2030 SDGs, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality, alongside the SDGs related to climate objectives, particularly SDG 13. While Denmark's approach to SDG implementation involves screening new regulations for their impact on SDGs, this strategy does not explicitly prioritise gender-focused actions within the climate domain. The review points to room for improvement in explicitly integrating gender equality considerations into SDG implementation efforts, ensuring that gender perspectives are adequately incorporated into climate policy as directed by the UNFCCC GAP.  

Both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders argue that gender experts are sometimes either not consulted or invited too late in the policymaking process, or their contributions are not included in the final strategies, policies, etc. Moreover, in Denmark and Norway, there seems to be limited collaboration between public authorities developing domestic climate policy and gender equality agencies and organisations. For instance, a researcher from CICERO reports that “CICERO’s knowledge on gender dimensions is not in high demand, and it is difficult to get financial resources for that work”. 

Two inter-governmental gender experts participating in the workshop and focus groups note that time constraints in policymaking processes often hinder the inclusion of all relevant parties and partners.

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

A senior advisor in a Danish Ministry argues that because gender expertise is not directly present among climate policymakers, who mostly are experts in climate issues, integrating the gender perspective or even finding external experts can become an extra burden in addition to the major core tasks.

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

In line with this, the coordinator of gender mainstreaming in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency argues that due to time constraints in policymaking processes, there is not enough time to build trust or bring all relevant parties to the table.

Online cross-Nordic focus group (15.12.2023). Gender Mainstreaming the Green Transition in the Nordic Countries.

The extent to which gender is mainstreamed into key climate policy documents, such as National Climate Action Plans and Long-term Low-emission Strategies, varies among the Nordic countries. In some cases, climate policy documents come across as gender-blind, while other examples within the same country showcase efforts towards gender mainstreaming in climate policy. In other cases, climate policy documents such as the Danish Long-term- Low-emission strategy demonstrate gender responsiveness while minimal gender mainstreaming activities are observed within the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities, with few GIAs conducted and no instances of gender budgeting.

A noteworthy gap in successfully implementing the UNFCCC GAP is the lack of a systematic evaluation framework for the GAP, which means that there is a lack of clear structures for the processes of monitoring and reporting national (incl. regional and local) progress. The process of monitoring progress towards gender equality within environmental and climate policies is challenged by limited and irregular international reporting and monitoring mechanisms.

Despite requirements for countries to report – every fifth year – on their efforts towards gender equality in environmental and climate policies, the reporting mechanism of the BPfA does not compel the formulation of specific goals or indicators for monitoring the gender-climate nexus. In addition, the VNRs also provide a platform for countries to present their gender mainstreaming efforts concerning green transition. However, the level of detail in these reporting frameworks on climate policies and actions varies significantly, highlighting a substantial gap in establishing precise indicators for monitoring the impact of climate policies on gender equality. Although the Biennial Reports to the UNFCCC include references to gender equality, the lack of mandated goals or indicators for this specific intersection further emphasises the deficiency in monitoring mechanisms.

This absence of specific mechanisms dedicated to evaluating the effectiveness of gender-responsive measures in climate policies indicates a broader issue within the international framework for addressing the gender-climate nexus, highlighting a significant area for improvement in achieving a comprehensive and consistent understanding and integration of gender considerations within climate policy and action.