User:Livg21/Climate change and gender

Article Draft (Additions)

The intro section does not include specific mention of non-binary individuals, or LGBTQ+ folks. It mentions how a binary exists that focuses on men and women specifically, but the intro should expand upon this.

[MY ADDITION:]

This binary also excludes individuals who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and those who are non-binary and do not fit into gender norms.

Gender differences in climate change policy

Gender-blind mitigation policy[edit]

In 2009, a forest-protection mechanism called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) was agreed upon by attendees of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Many development organizations praise the REDD mechanism, but others criticize its function as a market-based instrument and its impact on local communities.

[MY ADDITION:]

Over the past 13 years, they have have partnered with 65 countries to meet their forest goals. Some examples of this include: UN-REDD partnered countries have submitted 700 million tCO2 of forest emission reductions, and 25 UN-REDD countries have integrated REDD+ policies at the ministerial or cabinet level, meaning these countries have now seen reductions in deforestation. Their 2020 Executive Summary notes that Myanmar and Peru created strategic policies for the reduction of emissions in the forest and land-use sector.

The UN-REDD program has created a plan for 2021-2025 to reduce forest emissions and enhance carbon stocks. The first priority is to have forest solutions realized, in which they focus on reducing CO2 emissions. The second priority is to reward these forest solutions, and they have allocated $5 billion from Results-based Payment schemes, carbon markets, and private-sector carbon investments. Additionally, transactions under the 6th Article of the Paris Agreement are included in this. The third priority of this plan is to have at least 15 countries alter their Nationally Determined Contributions by 2025 to include more about forests, particularly with the goal of lowering emissions. The fourth goal involves REDD+ leading a Nature-based Solutions movement to speed up changes around climate action.

Gender-blind adaptation policy[edit]

Some scholars believe that climate change policy that does not address gender is not effective. Much of the climate change policy created before the 21st century focused on economic rather than social effects of climatic change and global warming. Climate change research and policy began to look at gender in the 21st century. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Millennium Development Goals, and the Beijing Platform for Action are all gender-aware initiatives that may affect climate change policy. Some of the international responses to climate change that do not address gender or employ gender-sensitive approaches include Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Action Plan.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have incorporated gender dimensions, the latter through a Gender Action Plan. Roehr notes that, while the United Nations officially committed to gender mainstreaming, in practice gender equality is not reached in the context of climate change. Little data and research results in insufficient gender awareness in enacted gender policies.

[MY ADDITION:]

The five priority areas of the Gender Action Plan include: capacity building, knowledge management and communication, gender balance, participation in women's leadership, coherence, gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation, and monitoring and reporting. Capacity building, knowledge management and communication requires gender consideration to play a larger role when creating policy and action plans. The goal of this is to not only make sure the genders are considered equally, but to increase outreach and awareness to do so. The second part, gender balance, participation and women's leadership, explains a goal of having more women participate in UNFCCC process. The next, which is coherence, emphasizes the need for gender-related mandates. Gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation is ensuring the importance of having women mentioned in legislation such as the Paris Agreement. And finally, the monitoring and reporting would monitor these changes under the Lima work program to see whether or not the gender action plan is being implemented properly.

US Policy and Strategy

In recent years, initiatives toward gender equality in relation to climate change have been created. One of these initiatives is the National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which was proposed by the Biden-Harris administration. This is a strategy that aims to have full participation of all people, which includes women, in the United States. In this Strategy, they recognize that there is gender-based discrimination and exclusion in the development of climate policy. These policies, which are exclusionary, make it difficult to make effective policy about issues such as climate change if groups of people are being left out. The goal of this strategy is to promote gender equity in relation to climate change policy and mitigation, as well as address how climate change might affect public health differently based on gender.

This goal of promoting gender equity in mitigating and responding to climate change involves multiple steps. The first is to pursue this gender parity in both negotiations and science that center around climate change. To promote the education of women, the administration hopes to create a focus on climate science in education and ensure their inclusion in the environmental protection plans and climate action plans. The next priority is to create more leadership trainings for women to create better participation in clean energy economy. Another goal is to utilize the Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of benefits from investments for climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities. Additionally, they plan to create a Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.

Other legislation, such as the Women and Climate Change Act of 2019. hopes to highlight initiatives led by women to not only combat climate change itself, but the gender inequality that exists within this area. They hope to establish the Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change, and to create a more comprehensive strategy on how to involve women in climate policy in the future.

[MY ADDITION:] Women's power in response to climate change

Women can play a role in climate change response and can often help at the local level, which can inform specific aspects of climate change policy. Women contribute their local knowledge of leadership, sustainable resource management, and how to incorporate sustainability into both the household and community. This also demonstrates how women play a vital role in natural resource management. Additionally, evidence demonstrates communities are better prepared for natural disasters when women play a pivotal role in the early warning systems and reconstructions. A 2000 study in South Asia demonstrated that women were crucial in hazard preparation and rebuilding/managing communities after a disaster, as well as ensuring food security and safety for specific groups of people.

Gender inclusivity in climate change

Many marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis the world is experiencing, and this includes both gender and sexual minorities. Following a disaster, same sex couples risk not receiving relief support if they are not recognized as a legitimate couple by the government. Additionally, non-binary individuals lack access to gender-specific services that target men or women. Initiatives to reduce this risk and danger include MapBeks to map LGBTQ+ safe spaces, HIV testing facilities, and access through roads and buildings for disaster management.

References

https://unfccc.int/gender