ICWES14-en
Ulrike Roehr
Ulrike Roehr is a engineer and sociologist by background, is head of genanet – focal point gender, environment, sustainability which is aiming to support gender mainstreaming in environmental policy by providing information, organising a network of gender & environment experts, advising environment organisations, carrying out studies and developing statements. genanet is part of the German women’s organisation LIFE, seated in Berlin. Ulrike Roehr has been working on gender issues in planning, Local Agenda 21, environment, and especially in energy and climate policy for many years. In recent years she was committed to mainstream gender into climate policy on local and national levels as well as into the UN climate change debates, and to strengthen women’s involvement in the negotiations. Recently she carried out a research review on gender and climate change on behalf of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, in cooperation with Dr. Minu Hemmati) and is coordinating the international network gendercc – women for climate justice.
AT A SNAIL’S PACE – INTEGRATING GENDER ASPECTS INTO CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATES
Abstract for the plenary session by Ulrike ROEHR Head of Genanet – Focal point gender, environment, sustainability.
It is undisputed in research and policy making that climate change will hit those, who contributed least to the problem, most. It is the poorest regions of the world, and the most impoverished social groups who will suffer most. It is also well known that a majority of the world's poor are women and that they are especially vulnerable due to cultural, religious and economic factors. Nevertheless, there is little consideration of gender aspects in the area of adaptation to climate change. This holds true for research as well as for political debates. Climate protection and climate change have been rarely addressed as discrete topics from a gender perspective, and is most significantly absent in international climate negotiations and regional or national measures to prevent climate change and its implications, and undertake the necessary adaptation measures. Only recently some adaptation plans and measures started to incorporate gender, for example in vulnerability assessments. Regarding mitigation of climate change, gender disaggregated data concerning CO2 emissions and gendered impacts of measures to reduce these emissions are lacking. Nevertheless, there is a certain amount of data which point to differences in carbon emissions between the sexes, and lead to the assumption that the priorities of women in climate protection may be different from those of men. The implications of the gender-blind approach to climate change, recommendations to increase women’s participation, and strategies for mainstreaming gender into climate change policies will be explicated in the presentation.
AT A SNAIL’S PACE – INTEGRATING GENDER ASPECTS INTO CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATES
Abstract for the plenary session by Ulrike ROEHR Head of Genanet – Focal point gender, environment, sustainability.
It is undisputed in research and policy making that climate change will hit those, who contributed least to the problem, most. It is the poorest regions of the world, and the most impoverished social groups who will suffer most. It is also well known that a majority of the world's poor are women and that they are especially vulnerable due to cultural, religious and economic factors. Nevertheless, there is little consideration of gender aspects in the area of adaptation to climate change. This holds true for research as well as for political debates. Climate protection and climate change have been rarely addressed as discrete topics from a gender perspective, and is most significantly absent in international climate negotiations and regional or national measures to prevent climate change and its implications, and undertake the necessary adaptation measures. Only recently some adaptation plans and measures started to incorporate gender, for example in vulnerability assessments. Regarding mitigation of climate change, gender disaggregated data concerning CO2 emissions and gendered impacts of measures to reduce these emissions are lacking. Nevertheless, there is a certain amount of data which point to differences in carbon emissions between the sexes, and lead to the assumption that the priorities of women in climate protection may be different from those of men. The implications of the gender-blind approach to climate change, recommendations to increase women’s participation, and strategies for mainstreaming gender into climate change policies will be explicated in the presentation.
