Gender and Climate Change

How important is it to integrate a gender perspective into the climate change debate, both in the North and the South? Gender issues have not played a major role in climate protection discussions until very recently, but in the last couple of years there has been more of a conscious effort to address questions of gender. In the South, changes in the climate often impact on areas for which women have been traditionally responsible like nutrition, energy and water supplies. This could have long-term implications for gender relations, as women may end up spending more time on traditional reproductive tasks thus reinforcing traditional gender roles. In the North, a study in Europe revealed that women are more prepared than men to change their behaviour to prevent climate change as they place a higher importance on the risk that it may have on their lives. In some areas, they have adjusted their behaviour by reducing their energy consumption, using more public transport and changing their nutrition and shopping habits. Recommendations on how to integrate gender into the climate change debate include: invest more in research and the production of gender disaggregated data, integrate gender into climate protection negotiations and policy making, and encourage women's participation in decision making and negotiations.