Conservative delegations from the Vatican to Iran are pushing to narrow the definition of “gender” at UN climate talks in Brazil — a move aimed at excluding trans and non-binary people and threatening to complicate the summit’s outcome.The effort, which seeks to use footnotes of key texts to attach country-specific interpretations, would set a “harmful precedent” that could seep into other shared decisions taken by the UN’s climate body, opponents warn. “When women and gender-diverse people are at the table, climate policies are more ambitious, more inclusive and more durable,” former Irish president Mary Robinson said Wednesday.”Weakening agreed language undermines climate ambition and is completely new in this system and it’s not acceptable.”Paraguay, Argentina, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia as well as the Holy See have so far entered footnotes into the draft Gender Action Plan (GAP) meant to guide work for the next decade, including efforts to embed gender in the heart of climate programs.Similar footnotes have also appeared in a text related to the “just transition” — the framework to shift to environmentally sustainable economies without leaving workers and communities behind.”We do not agree at all with what some countries are putting in the agenda footnotes,” Alicia Barcena, Mexico’s secretary of environment, told AFP.”We feel we are going backwards — we should never go backwards.”The issue has become so sensitive that COP30’s Brazilian presidency has elevated it from technical negotiations to a higher political level, where ministers are now trying to hash out a compromise.Women and girls face disproportionate impacts from climate change, the UN says, largely because they make up the majority of the world’s poor, and are less involved in decision-making.During times of drought they walk further, work harder, and are more likely to die than men when extreme weather disasters strike.Yet despite decades of commitments, women account for just 35 percent of delegates at COP30 in Belem, according to the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO).The first formal GAP was adopted in 2017 and strengthened in 2019; COP30 is now hammering out its next, more ambitious iteration.- Anti-wokeism -The footnotes lay bare parties’ red lines around the term “gender” — some longstanding, others part of a rising right-wing tide opposed to so-called “wokeism.”The Holy See, for example, says it understands gender as “grounded on the biological sexual identity that is male and female.”Argentina, a majority-Catholic country led by President Javier Milei — a close ally of US President Donald Trump — has rolled back gender-equality policies and LGBT rights, and attacked the “cancer” of “wokeism.”There is “frustration within rooms,” a source close to the matter, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue, said Wednesday. “It’s become a bit ridiculous — we have six footnotes right now; should we have 90?”The source added there was no need to reopen the definition, because parties can already interpret decisions according to their national circumstances.”Allowing countries to attach their own interpretations to agreed language does not protect national sovereignty. It undermines multilateralism itself,” Bridget Burns, executive director of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, told AFP.”If every Party could footnote core terms like finance, ambition or equity, we would have no negotiation left — only fragmentation. Gender equality is an agreed principle under this Convention — it needs no qualification.”One possible off-ramp, the source said, would be for the opposing countries to deliver statements after a decision is adopted, ensuring their positions are reflected in the official record.

US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to end Sudan’s grinding civil war at the request of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, condemning “tremendous atrocities” in a conflict he has previously overlooked.Trump admitted that the devastating civil war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was “not on my charts” before de facto Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman pushed him to get involved.But Trump said he would now work to “stabilize” the conflict with regional powers, notably including the United Arab Emirates, which denies accusations of backing the RSF with weapons and mercenaries.The United Nations has repeatedly called for greater global attention to the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million since its outbreak in April 2023.”His majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan,” Trump said at a business forum with the Saudi royal a day after Prince Mohammed received a lavish reception at the White House.”It was not on my charts to be involved in, I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control. But I just see how important that is to you, and to a lot of your friends in the room, Sudan. And we’re going to start working on Sudan.”Shortly afterward Trump, who had barely commented on the Sudan war in the nine months since he returned to office, was talking about the conflict again on social media.The 79-year-old Republican said he would use the “influence of the presidency to bring an immediate halt” to the war.”Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan. It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.- ‘Gone bad’ -Trump called Sudan a “Great Civilization and Culture, unfortunately gone bad” that could be fixed with the help of wealthy regional powers.”We will work with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern partners to get these atrocities to end, while at the same time stabilizing Sudan,” he added.Saudi Arabia supports Sudan’s army-aligned government. The army accuses the United Arab Emirates of backing the RSF, which the UAE denies.The RSF recently seized the key city of Al-Fasher after a relentless siege, leading the UN Human Rights Council on Friday to order a probe of alleged atrocities. Despite the conflict being off Trump’s radar, Washington has stepped up efforts in recent months to finalize a truce between the warring parties.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the UAE’s foreign minister on Friday to urge Abu Dhabi to back a Sudan ceasefire.And Trump’s own Africa envoy Massad Boulos on Saturday told AFP that the war in Sudan was the “world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.”Trump repeatedly claims to have solved eight conflicts since returning to office in January but has until now focused instead on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine in his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize.His promise to start working on the Sudan conflict reflects his close ties with the de facto Saudi leader, whom he hosted at the White House for a lavish visit on Tuesday.Their closeness was also underscored by his comments in the Oval Office on Tuesday, during which Trump defended the prince over the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the prince “knew nothing”.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hit the corridors of COP30 in Belem on Wednesday, in a push to land a deal at the UN climate talks as nations remained divided over contentious issues.Lula flew into the Amazonian city to bring the weight of the presidency to the talks, in a rare late-stage visit by a head of state or government at the annual gathering.COP30 host Brazil released a draft pact on Tuesday and pushed negotiators to work through the night, hoping to get nations to agree on the most disputed points as soon as Wednesday — two days before the conference is scheduled to end.Lula, who has invested political capital into making what he dubbed the “COP of truth” a success, shuttled between rooms to meet with ministers of various negotiating groups.”His willingness to make time in his busy schedule to give new momentum to the COP is tremendously important,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement after meeting with Lula.But as the day progressed, a deal had yet to materialize.The disagreements center on the impact of trade measures, language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and demands for developed countries to provide more climate finance to poorer nations.French ecological transition minister Monique Barbut knocked back Brazilian hopes of securing a deal as soon as Wednesday.”No, there will not be a COP decision today. I don’t see how that could happen,” Barbut told AFP.”However, yes, there is a little bit of movement. But we are still far from the mark because for us, it must be a comprehensive package,” Barbut said after a coordination meeting with European colleagues.She added, however, that she was “more optimistic” than she was the day before.- No more money -The draft underscores the gulf between a broad coalition of more than 80 countries pushing for a “roadmap” on phasing out fossil fuels and an opposing bloc led by oil-producing countries.”Whether we’re going to call it the roadmap or we’re going to use a different wording, I think is secondary. But once again, we very much like the idea,” Hoekstra said at a news conference.Further complicating matters, there are visible cracks on the Brazilians’ front.The idea of a roadmap, pushed by Lula himself, was never taken up by the summit’s president — led by diplomats who are seen by observers as close to business circles, and under pressure from nations that do not want it brought up.Negotiators are also at loggerheads over pressure from the developing world for developed countries to provide more finance to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy.The COP29 summit in Baku last year concluded with developed nations agreeing to provide $300 billion a year in climate finance, a figure criticized by developing countries as woefully insufficient.The EU, where many countries are facing economic headwinds and soaring debt, has led opposition to demands for more money.”We’re not looking at any increases in adaptation finance,” Irish climate minister Darragh O’Brien said.The EU is also fighting any attempt to have language against its tax on imports of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers.China has called for the removal of what it calls “trade barriers.””There should be at least a mention (of trade measures), because they become a disabler instead of an enabler. So, I think they will be mentioned in some way,” Mexican environment minister Alicia Barcena told AFP.A new text is expected to be published on Wednesday.COP30 is due to end on Friday, but climate summits regularly run into overtime.In a sign that Brazil wants to stay on schedule, delegates sleeping on two cruise ships serving as floating hotels have been told to vacate their cabins on Saturday morning.