Challenging the Narrative of Inclusion: Feminist Decolonial Perspectives on Climate Governance

Abstract This article explores climate governance arrangements decided in 2021 at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 26 in Glasgow through a feminist decolonial lens. Through a micropolitical study of negotiations around who should participate on the advisory board for the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), I challenge the dominant narrative that the inclusion of women, Indigenous, and youth constituencies on the CTCN board results in purely positive outcomes for marginalized communities. The article uncovers hidden agendas behind the Global North’s support for these constituencies to be included on the board and explains the reasons for serious hesitation from Global South parties concerning advisory board changes. Decolonial feminisms can underscore how this inclusion continues to erase epistemologies of women of color, effectively reconstituting the colonial gender system.