Paris Agreement: A New Path for Gender Equality
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“Indigenous women are seen as poor and vulnerable, but our ancestral knowledge is fundamental to face climate change and we want to share it with the world.”, Tania Pariona Tarqui, from the Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú “Chirapaq”, in the publication “Una Misma Mirada A Partir de Muchas Voces”.
Tania's words become much stronger when we learn about one of the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report “Climate Change, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability“, which explains that although this global problem impacts everyone, it does so in a differentiated manner according to regions, socioeconomic groups or gender. In this context, women are affected by the marginalization suffered within the social structure and culture in which they live.
Oxfam International argues that when natural disasters such as cyclones, droughts or extreme rains - which may be more intense as a result of climate change - strike, the poorest communities are the first and hardest hit. And since women represent 70% of the population living below the poverty line, they bear the heaviest burden. Given this evidence, it is important to work on the equity factor in the face of climate change.
Gender equality in the Paris Agreement
During COP20, the first steps were taken to accelerate women's participation and promote human rights in climate negotiations. The “Lima work on gender” was achieved, which ends this year and invites countries to promote gender balance and gender sensitivity in the development and implementation of climate policy and in the activities of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The following advances were promoted in the Paris Agreement, adopted during COP21. The treaty recognizes the adoption of measures with gender equality, women's empowerment and intergenerational equity components. But, in addition, Articles 7 and 11, in which -respectively- the issues of adaptation and capacity building to address climate change are developed, make very clear mentions in relation to equity and human rights.
Carmen Arias, Peruvian negotiator on gender equality, maintains that the Paris Agreement reflects the efforts made by Latin American delegations to include the issue of equity and rights in the climate change agenda, with special emphasis on Costa Rica, Chile, Peru and Mexico.
"The challenge is for the COP22 in Marrakech to extend the Lima work on gender for a period of more than two years. It should be pointed out that this component should be present in climate programs, for example, when contributions are made, the differentiated impact of vulnerable populations such as women and children is taken into account. So, they are protecting them and it is the right way to go.”explains Arias.
The gender plan in Latin America
In El Salvador, as in other countries in the region, the effects of climate change are manifesting themselves by increasing vulnerability and disaster risk, especially in rural areas. And although there are efforts to address the issue from a gender perspective, women assume traditional roles, especially in response to disasters, such as being in charge of cleaning and cooking in shelters or caring for their children.
But little by little things are changing. Enriqueta Ramírez, climate change and gender advisor for the Vivazul Association of El Salvador, explains that women are gradually being incorporated into community organization structures, such as boards of directors or disaster response committees. However, it is necessary to go further and efficiently promote the incorporation of girls, adolescents and women into the educational system and into the processes that determine all those actions and works that benefit their communities, guaranteeing not only their presence, but also their active participation and a real voice that represents their needs and those of their families.
Less than a month ago, Peru became the first country in South America to present its Gender and Climate Change Action Plan (PAGCC), which promotes capacity building for the most vulnerable populations in the face of climate change. With its approval, Peru has a management instrument to urge the development and implementation of public policies that consider the differentiated impacts of climate change on men and women.
Lorena Aguilar, global gender advisor at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, believes that, in addition to Peru, Costa Rica and Cuba already have a gender plan, and in October the Dominican Republic will begin to create one.
"Transportation projects, more efficient energy programs, disaster prevention, among others, require a gender action plan to transform political will into actions that have an impact and promote much more equitable relations to achieve the countries' climate change goals.”he concludes.
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