The road to Environmental Justice: Financing gender equality and women’s rights

As the world approaches COP30 in Belém, gender equality and women’s rights remain at the heart of the climate justice agenda. Hosted by GWL Voices and Women Deliver, with collaboration of Plataforma CIPÓ, and the Baháʼí International Community, "The Road to Environmental Justice: Financing Gender Equality and Women’s Rights" will bring together leaders in climate governance, finance, and women’s rights for a high-level discussion during Climate Week NYC.

The panel will explore how to make gender equality a cornerstone of climate action—through inclusive governance, equitable participation in the green transition, and financing strategies that recognize women as essential agents of change. With the upcoming adoption of a new Gender Action Plan under the UNFCCC, this dialogue aims to provide actionable pathways that put women’s rights at the center of environmental and climate justice.

Panelists and Moderator

Mary Robinson, President of Ireland (1990–1997), former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former UN Special Envoy for Climate Change (TBC)
Nigar Arpadarai, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29 Azerbaijan
Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC (2016–2022), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico
Dr. Maliha Khan, President and CEO, Women Deliver
Maiara Folly, Executive Director and Co-founder, Plataforma CIPÓ
Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, former US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Environmental activist and geographer, Coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and Autochthonous Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) (TBC)
Daniel Perrell, Representative to the United Nations, Baháʼí International Community
Moderator: María Fernanda Espinosa, Executive Director of GWL Voices, former President of the UN General Assembly (2018–2019), former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador (2017–2018).