Key Messages >>>
- How does climate change relate to gender, justice & equity?
- How can gender equality help address climate change?
- Why do equity and justice appear to be a central issue in climate action and what are the obstacles to achieving climate justice and equity?
According to the International Union for Conservation, 2021, when it comes to climate change the issue of justice can be viewed from multiple angles: the problem of the distribution of emission reduction burdens among states, uneven distribution of adverse impacts over countries and people, impacts for future generations and imbalance in power connected to the negotiation process for the formation of the international climate change regime. Climate equity is made up of four principles: the principle of corrective justice, the principle of distributive justice, the principle of procedural equity, and the principle of intergenerational equity.
Climate justice is an important aspect of just transition towards a sustainable future as it addresses systemic, socioeconomic, and intergenerational inequalities. There are many challenges that countries and communities face in achieving climate justice. For example, lack of transparency and inclusion in climate negotiations and plans; lack of access to education and resources on the environment, climate change, and human rights; unsafe environment for defenders to come forward and demand justice; inadequate financial and technical support from rich countries (UNDP, 2023).
Climate Change coupled with gender inequality is one of the greatest challenges of our time. It poses huge threats to ways of life, livelihoods, health, safety and security for women and girls around the world. (UN WOMEN, 2022; explainer, para, 1).
Based on a United Nations Development Programme Publication, (Climate Promise para,1-10), the threat of climate change does not affect everyone equally and its impacts perpetuate and magnify structural and gender inequalities. This is due to the unequal sharing of power between women and men, the gender gap in access to education and employment opportunities, the unpaid care burden, prevalence of gender-based violence, and all other forms of deep-rooted gender-based discrimination.
Gender analysis is a crucial step of assessing how the impacts of climate change impact women and men differently to help identify where inequalities and gender gaps exist and where to take relevant measures. This will bring about the development and implementation of climate policies that are synergized and integrated with gender equality objectives that are more successful at achieving the deep transformations required to tackle climate change and ensure social justice.
As the effects of climate change mount, so does the urgency to ensure equity while pursuing solutions. Inadequate action will mean more lives lost, worsening inequality, mass migration and major economic disruptions (WRI, 2022, Climate equity, para 2).
Questions
From the above discussion, the following questions become relevant:
- How does Climate Change relate to Gender, Justice & Equity?
- How can Gender Equality help address Climate Change?
- Why do equity and justice appear to be a central issue in Climate Action and what are the obstacles to achieving Climate Justice and Equity?
Bibliography
United Nations Development Program URL: https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/what-does-gender-equality-have-do-climate-change#:~:text=The%20impacts%20of%20climate%20change,labour%20to%20make%20a%20living
UNDP “climate promise” URL: https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/climate-change-matter-justice-heres-why
United Nations Women “how gender inequality and climate change are interconnected” URL: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/explainer/2022/02/explainer-how-gender-inequality-and-climate-change-are-interconnected
International Union for Conservation URL: https://www.iucn.org/news/world-commission-environmental-law/202103/climate-equity-or-climate-justice-more-a-question-terminology
World Resources Institute “climate equity” URL: https://www.wri.org/initiatives/climate-equity