Thread by @schipper_lisa

What does gender equity have to do with climate change? A lot - according to science. It sits within the larger issue of #climatejustice.

A brief thread on Gender in the #IPCC #WGII and #WGIII reports. TL;DR: Discourse has shifted from women as victims to agents of change. 🧵🧵

Let's start with the #WGII key message. Emphasis on 'for all' mine - but this is key. Climate action must be for everyone/ especially the most marginalised, like women often are. 'For all' comes from #SDGs in case you missed it.

AR6 is different from previous reports - it centres around equity and justice. It identifies LOTS of adaptation strategies around the world, but notes that many of these are not effective. BUT: Adaptation solutions that are effective and feasible conform to principles of justice.

Equity & justice are key to Climate Resilient Development. But as stated in the #IPCC #WGII SPM: Opportunities for climate resilient development are not equitably distributed around the world (very high confidence). Nor are they equitably distributed among different groups.

Climate justice highlights unequal distribution of climate change impacts and opportunities for adaptation and mitigation & calls for transformative pathways for human & ecological well-being. #IPCCReport

Transformative approaches address the concentration of wealth, unsustainable extraction and distribution of resources, as well as the importance of equitable participation in environmental decision making for climate justice. #IPCCReport

A gender perspective does not centre only on women or men but examines structures, processes and relationships of power between and among groups of men and women and how gender intersects with other social categories such as race, class, status, nationality, & education #IPCC

A gender transformative approach aims to change structural inequalities. Attention to gender in climate change adaptation is thus central to questions of climate justice that aim for a radically different future. #IPCCReport

A gender approach in climate change policy & planning is not just part of an approach to including the most marginalised, but also because attempts to adapt or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions that do not take gender justice into account will likely not succeed. #IPCCReport

The impact of climate change is worsening other large-scale societal changes. Simultaneously, gender and other social inequities (e.g., racial, ethnic, age, income, geographic location) compound vulnerability to climate change impacts. #IPCCReport

Interestingly, the #WGIII report on mitigation also highlights gender. Thanks to @minalpathak1 for identifying these messages. First, women are not as big of a burden on climate change - did you know this?

The #WGIII report notes that carbon emissions are lower per capita in countries where women have more political ‘voice’, controlling for GDP per capita and a range of other factors. #IPCC

Women use less energy, have lower GHG emissions but also have sustainable consumption choices. Women’s carbon footprints are about 6-28% lower than men’s (with high variation across countries), mostly based on their lower meat consumption and lower vehicle use #IPCC #WGIII

Women have key role in the changing energy economy due to their demand and end use of energy resources in socially-gendered productive roles in food production and processing, health, care, education, clothing purchases, commerce & other work both within and beyond the home #IPCC

Gender specific policies that promote equitable outcomes are core elements of a Just Transition and expanding access to clean energy will help alleviate burden on women and children. #IPCC #WGIII

Increasing the participation of women and marginalised social groups, and addressing their special needs, helps to meet a range of SDGs, improve disaster and crisis response, increase social trust, and improve climate mitigation policy development and implementation #WGIII #IPCC

What causes gender injustice? Lack of/limited participation -> this is a huge gender issue – women are often left out of making important decisions about resources in a household or community #IPCC

Other causes of gender injustice -> Multiple forms of inequality: e.g. gender, racial, income – the intersection of these can create even bigger problems, eg a poor, black woman vs a rich, white man. #WGII #IPCC

Historical inequities and injustices -> because almost every country in the world still has huge gender inequalities #IPCC #WGII

Actions to address climate change can also have tradeoffs for equity and justice. Eg, poorly planned and implemented nature-based solutions, agricultural intensification and urban greening projects leads to climate injustice through for example climate gentrification #IPCC

Also, when projects determine that land ownership is a critieria for participation in adaptation projects, this excludes women in places where women are not allowed to own land. #WGII #IPCC

Solutions need to adequately address structural inequalities resulting from climate change impacts, or how gender and other social inequalities can compound risk, this is part of gender transformative approach. #IPCC #WGII

Creation of new, deliberative policymaking spaces that support inclusive decision making processes and opportunities to (re)negotiate pervasive gender and other social inequalities in the context of climate change for transformation. #IPCC #WGII

If you want to know more, follow @AnjalPrakash @DrMA_Caretta @aditimukherji @rbeznerkerr @ruthamorgan @_chandnising @Totin001 @AroraJonsson @AlcadeCS and the many other authors of the GENDER x-Ch box sitting in #WGII Chapter 18.

If you are interested in gender dimensions in #IPCC, follow @DianaLiv @BMHayward @DebbieLeyL and others involved in the IPCC Task Force on Gender and read this paper: media.nature.com/original/magaz…

Argh, I was too quick. Here is the link: nature.com/articles/d4158…. The other one is just the supplemental material.

And @_chandnisingh's handle lost an 'h'...here she is