Women's Lunch zu Green Skills beim Petersberger Klimadialog setzt Impulse für eine gerechte Transformation

On the margins of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue 2026, we, ministers and high-level representatives, met for a Women’s Lunch to advance gender-responsive green skills as a key enabler of a just and inclusive transition. 

We recognise that labour markets remain characterised by persistent gender inequalities, with women and girls structurally disadvantaged and disproportionately affected by climate change and economic disruption.

At the same time, the skills required for sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient development are becoming essential across all sectors. Yet, significant gaps persist between climate ambition and workforce transformation, particularly regarding financing, institutional capacity and implementation. Skills shortages are a rapidly growing bottleneck for delivering climate targets, including the effective implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

We reaffirm our commitment to the Belém Gender Action Plan and emphasise that gender equality is a fundamental determinant of successful climate action. Closing gender gaps in skills, employment and leadership is essential to unlocking the full socio-economic potential of the green transition. Advancing gender-responsive green skills offers a triple opportunity: to accelerate climate action, strengthen economic resilience, and promote gender equality.

We stress the need to address systemic barriers to women’s and girls’ access to education, training, finance, and decent work – including unpaid care work, informality and unequal access to resources. Addressing these barriers can help unlock their role as key agents of change and ensure their full, equal and meaningful participation in labour markets in order to achieve 1.5°C-aligned climate action and resilience.

We acknowledge progress under the UNFCCC Belém Gender Action Plan, the Just Transition Work Programme and initiatives under the Global Climate Action Agenda. At the same time, we stress the need for more targeted and coordinated action, particularly on skills and workforce development. We therefore call for strengthened international cooperation to:

• integrate gender-responsive green skills into national climate and development strategies,
• support gender-responsive workforce transformation for effective NDC implementation, and
• mobilise gender-responsive finance, data and partnerships to scale inclusive training and employment opportunities.

We consider this exchange as an initial step toward a more structured international effort on gender-responsive green skills and will continue discussion and collaboration in the lead up to COP31 in Antalya.