Women and Climate Change
Today, it is easy to realize that industrialized countries are the biggest emissions, accounting for 79% of the total between 1850 and 2011, according to the Center for Global Development (CGD). It is therefore unfair for these countries to pay the same price as African countries or the Amazon, home of the world’s largest forests.
The same concept can be applied to peoples and individuals.
Justice for all:
“Justice is when we all pay the same price for the same reasons,” as mentioned above, at the level of states, peoples, and individuals.
Like taking the same entrance exam or paying the same fine for committing an offense.
Many may think that the concept of justice in general is obvious and does not need to be theorized or explained, but just framing it is a necessary first step. When an official is bribed to ignore a violation, at least both parties realize that they have committed a transgression. The existence of law, custom, or regulation is therefore necessary, even if ineffective, for any further step.
Perhaps justice today starts with recognizing that we don’t pay the same price regardless of the causes. Unfortunately, climate change increases discrimination and inequality at every level. The poorest and most vulnerable nations are already paying a price they cannot afford and are not prepared to deal with, while the highest emitters avoid their obligations in favor of “developing their economy!”
Justice at the level of individuals:
At the individual level, there are already groups in society that are marginalized, vulnerable, less able to face challenges and disasters, and more affected than other groups.
In a study conducted by UN Environment, 80% of those displaced by climate change are women, and according to the study, these women are directly exposed to violence and sexual assault in the absence of legal protection. For example, the number of women who know how to swim is much lower than the number of men in conservative societies, and therefore their chances of survival are lower in the event of a flood, which is one of the threats expected to increase in the coming period, and poverty rates increase in a large number of countries, including Syria, as a direct effect of climate change, which is necessarily accompanied by an increase in the rate of violence against women, high rates of illiteracy among women, underage marriage and polygamy, the Feminist Climate Justice report states that by the year 2050.
climate change will push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and 236 million more women into hunger.
Climate change also affects many markets in a deeper way, making the labor market in these sectors a new challenge for working women. The World Bank report on the impact of the Corona pandemic on women stated that the percentage of women laid off from work following the lockdown after the pandemic in 2020 reached 44% more than the percentage of laid-off men, and after the end of the lockdown period, the number of men who were hired was more than the number of new female employees, which indicates that women suffer more issues in the labor market than men, and they are the biggest losers when crises come.
All of the above are negative social impacts on women, and we can add to them the health impacts of climate change on women, such as menstrual diseases, an increase in premature births, and various psychological effects, in addition to an increase in the difficulty of obtaining health and reproductive services once the health sector deteriorates and these services are no longer considered a priority.
Thus, Syrian women are facing new challenges with climate change, which literally affects everything in our lives, and women will necessarily pay a greater price as a result of these challenges, as they are among the most vulnerable and least able to access resources and opportunities and reach their potential; the impact of climate change will simply be more severe on women collectively or individually, especially in poor, marginalized and rural areas that are far from services.
What’s the solution?
UN Women advocates for feminist climate justice and a world where everyone can have their human rights and thrive on a healthy and sustainable planet.
A feminist climate justice approach is centered around four key areas:
- Recognizing women’s rights, work and knowledge:
Policy must prioritize the rights of women and other groups who face discrimination as it affects their resilience to climate impacts. Women unfairly take on unpaid care responsibilities, have fewer economic resources than men, and have lower levels of literacy and access to technology. These inequalities are exacerbated by climate change.
Any effective climate adaptation policies will only be effective if these realities are taken into careful consideration and integrated into the development of policies and plans.
- Redistribution of economic resources:
Since women are already disadvantaged on the economic side, in terms of salary gaps and unequal access to jobs, land, technology, and education, it is essential to prioritize gender equality in just transformations. Otherwise, inequality against women will only become more entrenched.
Governments need to raise resources through progressive taxes on individuals and companies to pay for social welfare programs to support women’s resilience.
- Representing women’s voices
Women human rights defenders and feminist groups are pushing for gender equality to be integrated into environmental policymaking at all levels. But they are often excluded from authority.
Research shows that women’s representation in parliaments is associated with stronger environmental policies, but globally, women only hold about a quarter of the seats. Although women have been at the forefront of environmental activity for decades, they make up only 15 percent of environment ministers at the national level.
While women’s participation in national delegations to UN climate conferences increased from 30 to 35 percent from 2012 to 2022, the proportion of delegations led by women declined slightly from 21 to 20 percent over the same period.
- Reforming historical inequalities and injustices
Financial commitments to combat climate change must focus on the people and countries most at risk. Since 1850, Northern Hemisphere countries have been responsible for 92% of the world’s excess emissions, creating a huge climate debt.
To fix this imbalance, rich countries must fulfill their climate finance commitments and ensure that funds reach the most vulnerable countries and community based women’s organizations. With only 3% of climate development aid prioritizing gender equality, polluting companies should be taxed and regulated to prevent future climate damage.
In conclusion:
Maria Reyes, representing Fridays for Future MAPA and the Feminist Action Coalition for Climate Justice, said: “As young people from the Global South, we know what climate justice looks like because not only are we on the front lines of the climate crisis, we are also at the forefront of the solutions, building with our communities the systems we cannot live without while deconstructing the systems we cannot live in. As we enter institutionalized spaces like COP28, we need to leverage data and research, such as the Feminist Climate Justice Framework, as tools for transformative change.