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Climate change is increasingly being recognised as a global crisis, but
responses to it have so far been overly focused on scientific and economic
solutions, rather than on the significant human and gender dimensions. As
weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable and extreme events such as
floods, heat waves or natural disasters become more common, the poorest women
and men in the global South – who have contributed the least to the problem –
find their livelihoods most threatened yet have the weakest voice and least
influence on climate policy. How then do we move towards more people-centred,
gender-aware climate change policies and processes? How do we not only respond
to the different needs and concerns of women and men and ensure they have an
equal voice in decision-making, but also address and challenge the socially
ingrained gender inequalities that mean women are more likely to lose out than
men in the face of climate change?
This key issues guide is based on BRIDGE’s two
year Gender and Climate Change Programme, which was run in collaboration with
partners based in Paraguay, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Colombia and Germany – and a
global community of practice. The programme and its key output, the BRIDGE
Cutting Edge Pack on Gender and Climate Change advocates for an approach in
which:
The programme shows that there is much to learn from innovative, gender-aware approaches to climate change that are already happening at the local level, led by non-governmental organisations, communities and individuals, which are leading to transformations in gender and social inequalities in some cases. National, regional and international initiatives are also playing a key role in promoting the need to integrate gender dimensions into all climate change policy and practice.
The sections below present some key gender and climate issues.
Gender
and climate change overview report
Responses to climate change tend to focus on scientific and
economic solutions rather than addressing the vitally significant human and
gender dimensions. The Overview Report offers a comprehensive gendered analysis
of climate change which demystifies many of the complexities in this area and
suggests recommendations for researchers, NGOSs and donors as well as
policymakers at national and international level.
What are the gender dimensions of climate change? As a starting point, we know that women and men do not experience climate change equally. Pre-existing gender inequalities mean that neither their contributions to the carbon emissions responsible for climate change, nor the way that they experience its effects, are the same. More...
The
international climate change architecture is complex and constantly shifting as
new agreements come into being, or existing ones are amended. The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the overarching
international framework for addressing climate change. Despite referring to
human activity, the UNFCCC makes no reference to gender at any point. More...
Policies
that do take a gender perspective often do so in ways that draw on assumptions
and simplistic generalisations. For example, climate adaptation policies too
often treat women only as vulnerable beneficiaries rather than rights-holding
citizens who need to be recognised for the agency, skills and experience they
can contribute. More...
Latest
Additions
Gender
lens: adaptation and empowerment
2010
Vulnerability to climate change is determined, in large
part, by people's adaptive capacity. A particular climate hazard, such as a
drought, does not affect all people within a community – or ev...
Gender-sensitive
approaches and good practice examples from GIZ
J. Krauss / Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit GmbH, 2011
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development has made gender-specific challenges and responses to climate change
a priority. The Ministry’s Development Policy Action Plan...
Gendered
analysis of climate change
E. Skinner / BRIDGE, 2011
Responses to climate change tend to focus on scientific and
economic solutions rather than addressing the vitally significant human and
gender dimensions. For climate change responses to be effective ...
Practices
that could ‘work for women’ in climate change financing
E. Arend;S. Lowman / Women’s Environment and Development
Organisation, 2012
Although women and girls in developing countries
disproportionately experience the negative impacts of climate change, climate
finance funds do not meaningfully integrate gender dimensions into their ...