Bogotá, Colombia — From October 27–29, 2025, regional leaders, decision-makers, and gender equality advocates gathered for the Regional Women’s Leadership Course: Advancing a Just, Inclusive, and Resilient Energy and Climate Transition in Latin America and the Caribbean, co-organized by UNDP together with the Climate Diplomacy Action Programme and the IKI Interface Project, implemented by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) within the framework of the Alliance for Climate and a Just Energy Transition between Germany and Colombia. The event, held at Hotel Embassy Suites Bogotá by Hilton Bogotá, served as a space to catalyze transformative actions under women’s leadership across the region in the fields of energy, climate, and biodiversity.

Despite the region’s vast potential to lead in renewable energy and biodiversity conservation, women remain underrepresented in key sectors. Only 20% of the energy workforce is made up of women, and over 70% of women-led SMEs lack adequate financial services. Structural barriers, caregiving responsibilities, and limited access to STEM careers continue to restrict their participation in green industries. Without the deliberate integration of a gender perspective, the benefits of climate and energy transitions risk excluding half of the population.

During the opening session, participants were introduced to UNDP’s 2025 Regional Human Development Report, which warns of unprecedented pressures threatening to reverse decades of progress in human development across Latin America and the Caribbean. Amid overlapping crises and structural vulnerabilities, the transition to green energy represents a unique opportunity to promote inclusive policies that place gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of action. This approach aligns with the UN concept of resilience, understood not only as the ability to withstand crises, but also to transform in sustainable, equitable, and just ways.

The inauguration featured opening remarks from representatives of Colombia’s Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, along with Vietnam Pereira Poveda, Cooperation Officer at the Embassy of Germany, and Claudio Tomassi, UNDP Resident Representative. The keynote address was delivered by Marcela Guerrero, economist and former Minister for the Status of Women of Costa Rica, who explored the connection between care and sustainability in public policy. A panel discussion followed, featuring Carmen Stibel Duarte, Director of Climate Change and Risk Management at Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; Josefina Klinger, environmental leader; Elena Fernández, Coordinator of the Green Cluster at GIZ Colombia; and Jimena Puyana, Environment Officer at UNDP Colombia, moderated by Guillermina Martin from UNDP Latin America and the Caribbean.

Drawing on its expertise in leadership, gender equality, and climate action, UNDP led the pedagogical and methodological design of the course and provided guidance to participants. Meanwhile, the IKI Interface Project, implemented by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), led the integration of the course within the framework of climate diplomacy and a just energy transition, promoting exchange among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and with strategic actors. As the host country, the Government of Colombia provided the institutional and symbolic space to strengthen regional cooperation on gender and climate.

By strengthening women’s leadership and technical capacities across the region, the course seeks to ensure that climate, energy, and biodiversity agendas are not only ambitious but also equitable. Through dialogue, mentorship, and collaboration, this initiative aims to consolidate a resilient network of women leaders prepared to build a sustainable future in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Indigenous women, rural women, Afro-descendant women, and women from business and government, we are all different, we have different needs, and we lead in different ways. What we saw here is that it’s not about each of us facing our struggles alone, when we pull together, we are stronger. We need to stop each dealing with our own problems separately and instead pull together to help one another. — Indigenous woman from Colombia

At the conclusion of the process, participants will not only have acquired technical knowledge and tools but will also become part of a regional network of women leaders committed to accelerating climate action with gender justice. This network will serve as a dynamic space for exchange, mentorship, and collaboration—one capable of influencing national policies, bridging sectors, and highlighting women’s contributions to planetary sustainability.

As a businesswoman, I learned a lot from all of you — listening to you, feeling with you, and understanding you not only as leaders but as women, as individuals. That enriches me deeply, and now my commitment is to strengthen our understanding of community leaders so we can better support them. – Norma Alicia Ramírez Hinojosa, Mexican businesswoman. 

The process will continue with a six-week virtual training and mentoring program, designed to consolidate learning, share local experiences, and strengthen collaboration among participants through practical tools and ongoing support. This course is not only a training initiative—it is a commitment to a new paradigm of feminist, environmental, and transformative leadership that recognizes that caring for life and caring for the planet are one and the same task.

This gathering aligned with key regional and global milestones, such as the upcoming COP30 in Brazil, the update of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration. It also reinforces the Tlatelolco Commitment, which promotes a decade of action to accelerate substantive equality and build a care-centered society.