Impacts of climate change on the rights of women

The Committee recalls general recommendation No. 37 (2018) on the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction in the context of climate change and recommends that the State party review its climate change and energy policies, in particular its policy on the extraction and export of oil and gas, as well as the activities of related State-owned companies and private companies, taking into account the disproportionate negative impact on women and girls both within and outside its territory, with a view to radically reducing greenhouse emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

The Committee recommends that the State party adopt relevant legislation with a monitoring mechanism to ensure that businesses are held accountable for the impact of their activities on women’s human rights and environmental degradation.

The Committee recommends that the State party set up a mechanism to ensure meaningful and equal participation of women and girls, in particular from the Sami community, in the development of climate change adaptation and reduction strategies.

The Committee recommends that the State party update the Norwegian Climate Change Law to reflect its new Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 and take concrete steps to also achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The Committee recommends that the State party actively support and participate in the creation and operation of new funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage as decided during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27).