Global women's voices

Since arriving in Copenhagen I’ve had chance to attend several events focussing on gender and climate change at Klimaforum, the alternative "people’s" summit which is going on in a huge leisure centre in the centre of the city. Though these events have not been held in the largest venues, they’ve been packed out (this morning there were people listening from outside the room, as we were in danger of breaching fire regulations), and attended by men as well as women.

Yesterday I attended a talk by US academic Michelle Garvey, who gave a feminist critique of the dominant climate change discourse in the US. She pointed out that this is based on an individualist and consumerist framework, and proposes solutions based on free market capitalism. She suggested that a challenge would be to develop an alternative paradigm based on feminist principles that is socially just and empowers those groups and elements of nature that are oppressed.

This morning was an event entitled “Climate Justice and Gender”. As well as giving an overview of the concept of climate justice, there was also a presentation of the gendered aspects of climate change in the transport sector by Merritt Polk who is based at the University of Gothenburg. She explained that, like in the UK, Swedish men tend to use cars more and travel further in them than women. Despite the sexist jokes, women are safer drivers than men, and are also more likely to favour policies that reduce the environmental impact and safety risks of driving, such as lowering speed limits. Merritt made a point that WEN has often made: rather than seeing women as vulnerable, we need to see them as agents of change, and as more sustainable role models.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of hearing from Anna Pinto, an Indian activist on climate change, development and gender issues. She lives in an area of north-east India which, as well as facing social and political challenges, is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as melting glaciers from the Himalayas and erratic monsoons. She explained that the local communities have already been dealing with climate change and this exacerbates the difficulties they are already facing. But she also made a very important point about how we perceive women who are being the worst affected by climate change. “If I tie your hands behind your back and ask you to make a cup of coffee, are you vulnerable?” she asked. There is an important distinction to be made between those who really are vulnerable, such as children, and those who are disabled by the actions of others. Women are not vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they are weak, but they face greater challenges from climate change because of their social roles and tendency to live in poverty.