CLIMATE JUSTICE AND GENDER JUSTICE Building womens economic

CLIMATE JUSTICE AND GENDER JUSTICE: Building women’s economic and political agency in times of climate change Presentation for the conference of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) Accra, Ghana -- June 27 -29, 2014 Ellie Perkins Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University esperk@yorku. ca

The Impacts of Climate Change on Women are disproportionately affected by global climate change due to: § Poverty and socially constructed gender inequalities § Gendered work and family responsibilities § Reliance on natural resources for livelihoods § Limited financial, social, and institutional resources “Women Digging, India” Photograph by Steve Mc. Curry “Green Lake, Mount Abu” Photograph by Igor Cavalli

Women: Key Agents of Change • Women possess local ecological, social and political knowledge • Women’s work is key to adaptation, mitigation, resilience-building and political responses to climate change “Tea Plantation, India” Photograph by Steve Winter, National Geographic

Everywhere, women are often the local leaders, organizers and activists on water and other environmental issues, in community groups and NGOs. Amazon River, near Belem, Brazil. Ellie Perkins photo

The women’s movement has been very important in the construction of democratic governance in many countries – primarily through labour unions and non-governmental organizations. Headwaters of the Piracicamirim River, Piracicaba, Brazil. Ellie Perkins photo

The Bangladesh microcredit organization Grameen Shakti has trained 5, 000 women as solar PV technicians as part of its project to install more than 100, 000 solar home energy systems. Photo: http: //www. designrevolution. org/company-brings-sustainable-light-and-power-1000 s-bangladeshi-villages

In the dry northeast of Brazil, hundreds of women are being trained in concrete construction skills as part of the “one million cisterns” program to combat drought. Photo: http: //www. asabrasil. org. br/Portal/Informacoes. asp? COD_NOTICIA=8141

There are strong barriers to women’s political involvement: gender roles and family responsibilities; the unpaid work and time commitment required; differential access to education (especially on technical issues) and public speaking training for women; and all the general constraints of a macho culture. Amazon River, near Belem, Brazil Ellie Perkins photo

Training for all involved in both gender awareness and technical issues, as well as community environmental education, can help overcome the barriers to women’s participation. Lake at Genipabu, Natal, Brazil Ellie Perkins photo

Civil society organizations lead • ILO and Sustain. Labour advocate targeted support for women’s training and gender mainstreaming in green jobs development • COSATU (South Africa) mentions opportunities for gender equality in new green jobs • International climate change adaptation funding includes gender equity requirements • Fundamental economic transition can advance commons and decentralized economic governance

Sister Watersheds project (2002 -2008) • Developed and tested training programs and workshops led by local NGO partners • Workshops focused on: – – water management, environmental education, community development, democratic participation Website: http: //www. yorku. ca/siswater/

Climate change and water governance in Africa project (200912) • Developed methods to improve watershed governance for climate change adaptation • Worked to increase resilience and adaptive capacity of vulnerable and marginalized groups, especially women • Built activist-academic climate justice networks in Durban, Maputo and Nairobi Website: ccaa. irisyorku. ca

African project partners discuss climate change and women’s role in water governance at the project’s inception meeting in Brazil (August 2010). A government official shows visitors the lay of the land explains challenges in a São Paulo watershed. A guava farm started by women near Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil provides local food-processing and marketing employment. Skills training program for local girls. Patricia Figueiredo photos

Watershed perspectives on climate change in Toronto • Entire watersheds are affected by housing and infrastructure damage due to extreme weather events, (especially flooding), but low-income people are more severely affected • Climate adaptation and mitigation takes work and produces jobs • Green community development allows those in low-income neighbourhoods to train and gain experience for employment in climate adaptation and mitigation, which builds resilience throughout watersheds

In northwest Toronto, activists are building a Centre for Green Change on the first floor of a low-income social housing building, to promote

The Centre for Green Change includes a community kitchen, workshop and computer space, and a garden outside. Ellie Perkins photos

Methods for building civil society’s and women’s effective engagement • In Durban: “learning journeys”, toxic tours, community mapping, films/videos • In Maputo: school activities, communitybased environmental education • In Nairobi: building soccer fields in slum floodplains, local political organizing, “climate debt” activism • In Toronto: green community development

Pirajussara Creek in the Embú neighbourhood of São Paulo, Brazil. Ellie Perkins photo

Across the street from the previous picture, residents have painted their vision of a natural waterfall and stream – how they’d like their watershed to be. Ellie Perkins photo

Clean, beautiful water – the vision painted by residents in Embú, São Paulo.

Climate Justice and Political Engagement, North and South • Local people are the experts on what they need to deal with climate change, and on climate justice priorities. Every place is different. • Community-based environmental education and organizing tend to produce government action. • Green jobs / climate jobs provide an opportunity for local development, improvements in housing, recreation, sanitation, transportation, and watershed-based social resilience. • Global and local coalitions can create powerful synergies. • Women’s participation and leadership is crucial!

• Thank you -- Comments welcome! • Patricia E. (Ellie) Perkins • esperk@yorku. ca