by Maggie Jeffries

Coming on the heels of President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, it is imperative we look to grassroots gender equality and climate justice advocates as we prioritize and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What is the connection between women and climate change?

First, women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental pollution issues. Climate change has a larger impact on women because they constitute 2/3 of the world’s poor. Those who live below the poverty line rely more heavily on natural resources, and as those become more and more scarce, women’s lives become more arduous and untenable.

Second, despite being disproportionately affected, many programs and corresponding financing mechanisms are not gender-informed. Despite this tangible relationship, a 2012 assessment of the Climate Development Mechanism reported that only five of 3,864 projects had gender considerations within their programming.

Moreover, this not only perpetuates of the “gendered” status quo but compounds inequalities already disproportionately affecting women and girls. For instance, as the global temperature rises and land is lost to deforestation, and other environmental protection issues come to light, gender equality can often be seen as a necessity for “after the revolution;” something that cannot be worried about now because there are more pressing matters at hand. However, this does nothing except perpetuate long-standing issues that have caused climate change to begin with.

Link to full article: http://www.womenthrive.org/blog/environmental-justice-gender-justice