Gender and climate change: mapping the linkages. A scoping study on knowledge and gaps

While there is a wealth of literature on gender-based issues related to environment and disasters, there are few explicit references to gender and climate change. This paper outlines key linkages between climate change and gender inequality, focusing particularly on adaptation and mitigation policies and practices. The authors seek to identify gaps in the existing body of work and review best practice on adaptation and mitigation, with an emphasis on research, policy and practice.

Some of key areas analysed in this paper include:

• the differential impacts of climate change on men and women, highlighting implications for gender in/equality.
• a gendered approach to climate change adaptation, drawing particularly on a recent study from ActionAid and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) which centres around rural women’s own experiences of and responses to climate change.
• insights into the complexities of climate change mitigation, which emphasises the need to include women in developing and implementing mitigation strategies.

The authors conclude that particular attention needs to be given to promoting girls’ participation, since girls may be doubly excluded from decision-making processes and fora on account of being both a child/youth and female. They suggest that this is perhaps the single most important step towards achieving more equitable, appropriate climate change policies and programmes.

The paper recommends priority areas for future research and highlights some practical steps required to achieve more equitable, appropriate climate change policies and programmes. Some of the suggested areas of future research include:

• identifying and overcoming barriers to participation in decision-making
• identifying the gendered impacts, coping strategies and adaptation priorities of women and men in urban contexts
• identifying how gender affects people’s consumption and lifestyles.