logo

GenderCC Newsletter

December 2019

Dear readers,

Social protests are rising in many parts of the world. From Iraq, Iran to Lebanon and Sudan, from Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia to Chile, and in many other parts, people are on the streets against neoliberal reforms, authoritarian regimes and exploitation of humans and nature. This shows, that the current economic and social system, one of the main causes of climate change, is currently questioned by a big part of societies, especially in the Global South.


The protests in Chile gained special attention in the world, when Chilean president Piñera cancelled the UN Climate Change Conference and it was shifted to Madrid. What this means for the (Chilean) civil society from a feminist climate activist point of view, is a part of the information you will find in this December 2019 newsletter edition.


The newsletter also features detailed information about the preparation for the COP25 and GenderCC’s activities and events at the COP as well as updates of our and our members’ current projects and activities.
Furthermore, we provide you with news on gender and climate and on the latest publications on these topics. Find also the current and future events where we will participate!

We hope you enjoy this issue!


Kind regards,


the GenderCC Secretariat team

 

News from GenderCC

 

  • Not without us! Climate justice and gender justice in international climate politics
  • Gender Into Urban Climate Change Initiative

 

Gender @ UNFCCC

 

  • Gender @ Pre-COP in Costa Rica
  • Cancellation of COP in Chile
  • Our events and activities @ COP25

 

Activities of the Gender and Climate Change Community

 

  • Improving menstrual hygiene with washable pads
  • Gender and climate policies in international and national levels - Olfa Jelassi at Heinrich-Böll Foundation, Tunisia
  • Feminists Green New Deal
  • Report on the impact of climate change on rural women and the ecosystem in DR Congo

 

News on Gender and Climate Change

 

  • Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Young women of colour fighting climate change
  • Climate crisis accelerating gender based violence in the Pacific Islands

 

Who is Who at GenderCC

 

  • Franziska Stambke: our intern from Novemer 2019 - January 2020

 

Publications Calendar of Events


Imprint  

Subscribe/Unsubscribe

 

News from GenderCC

Not without us! Climate justice and gender justice in international climate politics

The project team successfully concluded the internal capacity building sessions this week with all 7 participants. We also organised the preparatory webinar “COP 25 - Making the link: international climate policies and their local impacts”, which can be accessed in full here.

Gender Into Urban Climate Change Initiative

The project team plans to actively participate in the World Urban Forum 10 in Abu Dhabi, which will take place from the 8th to the 13th of February in 2020. The GenderCC team intends to hold a training on the Gender Assessment and Monitoring of Mitigation and Adaptation (GAMMA) method, a networking event on gender and urban climate change policies and the international peer learning meeting of the project partners during the Forum, with the four partners from India, Indonesia, South Africa and Mexico. Keep an eye on our webpage to learn about our final programme at WUF10.

Gender @ UNFCCC

Gender @ Pre-COP in Costa Rica

In October, members of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) attended the pre-COP in Costa Rica, which focused, among other issues, on the review process of the Lima work programme on gender and its action plan. The outcome document on the negotiations can be found here.

There was also a workshop on the integration of human rights in climate national commitments and international negotiations. The workshop had an intersectional and rights-based approach to climate action and focused on gender equality, public participation, land tenure, and indigenous peoples’ rights. More information about the workshop here.

Cancellation of COP in Chile

The Women and Gender Constituency released a feminist statement about the cancellation of COP25 in Chile. In light of the recent political protests against unjust neo-liberal policies, the Chilean government cancelled the climate conference which was supposed to happen in Santiago. The COP will now be held in Madrid, Spain, still under the Chilean presidency. The WGC firmly stated their “full solidarity with the feminists, women, the youth and students, indigenous peoples, LGBTQI persons, human rights advocates and environmental rights defenders in Chile”. Read the full statement here.

Our events and activities @ COP25

GenderCC will attend COP 25 in Madrid for the two weeks. With a delegation of 27 gender and climate advocates and members, we have planned several events and activities! We will also be present at the alternative civil-society led summits both in Madrid and Santiago, where we will present our projects and show solidarity with other civil society and activists fighting inequalities and the climate chaos!

During the official conference, GenderCC will co-host the side event "Gender responsive urban climate policies and NDCs" with Equidad de Género Ciudadanía Trabajo y Familia and Fundación Despacio on Wednesday, December 11th, from 13:15-14:45 at Room 3. Together with partners from the "Gender Into Urban Climate Change Initiative", we will present lessons learned from assessing the gender responsiveness of climate change policies and discuss recommendations, both for the local/urban and national levels (NDCs). We will focus on Mexico and present cases of our partner organisations from India, Indonesia and South Africa.

On December 2nd, our partners from the project “Not without us! Climate justice and gender justice in international climate politics” will host the side event “Making Article 6 work for gender equality and indigenous peoples’ rights: learning from local experiences” from 18:30 to 20:00 at Room 5.

On December 5th, our project coordinator Isadora Cardoso will speak on the side event “Translating Policy into Action: the role of young women of the Global South for Climate Justice”, from 11:30 to 13:00 in Room 5. The event is organised by EmpoderaClima / Care About Climate.

On December 9th, the 5th annual edition of the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards will take place from 15:00 to 16:30 at Room 2. Hosted by the Women and Gender Constituency, the awards aim to showcase real solutions for a more just, equal and healthy planet. Three winners will receive € 2000 Euros, travel support to attend COP25, and one year of mentorship opportunities - while runners-up will be showcased in a publication, online platform and awards ceremony.

Also on December 9th, GenderCC will be offering an interactive quiz in the Action Hub of the COP, in which the participants can learn something on gender roles and power relations as well as the gender and climate change nexus in a fun and participatory way. The quiz is going to happen at the location of the Action Hub from 16:00-16:45 in the afternoon.

Our board member Gotelind Alber will be presenting GenderCC’s work on NDCs at the side event “NDC enhancement from a civil society perspective“ in the Pavilion of the NDC Partnership on December 10th from 16:30 to 17:30.

To see the full list of side events, visit here.

On December 6th, we will be joining social movements from around the world in the Rally for the Climate Emergency. It will take place from 18:00 at Atocha/Nuevos Ministerios in central Madrid. More information can be found here.

On the 9th and 10th of December, GenderCC will showcase materials from our international projects in the exhibit space of COP25, as well as the Gender Just Climate Solutions publication and materials from our fellows from the Women and Gender Constituency.

At the Peoples Summit in Santiago, Chile, Melissa Moreano, from the team of the “Not without Us!” project, will present the local stories produced by each team member on December 3rd, from 11:00 to 13:00 at Sala 4. The project team also plans to launch the same local stories at the Cumbre Social por el Clima, which will happen from the 6th to the 13th of December in Madrid. Follow our webpage to know about our full final programme.

Activities of the Gender and Climate Change Community

Improving menstrual hygiene with washable pads

Our member organisation Kirinda Youth Environmental Management and Poverty Alleviation Program Uganda (KYEMPAPU) celebrated the World Toilet Day in November, where they exhibited and distributed menstrual hygiene kits. These menstrual pads are washable and reusable and give women and girls the confidence to keep up their daily routine during their menstrual cycle. KYEMPAPU has invested in improving the access to clean water and proper waste management, as well as reducing deforestation by promoting alternative sources of energy.
The menstrual kits can be sponsored by a donation of 5€ per kit. For donation, please contact Sylvia Namukasa, (sylviakyempapu2017@gmail.com, +256-702 615323).

 

                                        

Gender and climate policies in international and national levels – Olfa Jelassi at Heinrich Böll Foundation Tunisia

The Heinrich Böll conference “Gender and Climate in Tunisia” in October 2019 was attended by over a hundred participants. It gave a deep insight into the relationship between gender and climate change in the country. A lecture given by our steering committee member Olfa Jelassi brought climate change into the Tunisian context.  She reviewed gender mainstreaming in Tunisian climate policies, calling for “more synergies between actions, legislations and policies for a national climate strategy that integrate gender as a transactional approach”. Read the full report here.

 

          

Feminist Green New Deal

Responding to the UN Climate Summit, several feminist organisations, including our partner Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) formed a coalition to launch demands for the U.S. Green New Deal. Their concerns are to “advance a transformative feminist agenda that centres the leadership of women, and acknowledges and addresses the generational impacts of colonisation and anti-Black racism. It must end oppression against and be led and articulated by frontline, impacted communities – especially women of colour, Black women, Indigenous women, people with disabilities, LGBTQI people, people from the Global South, migrant and refugee communities, and youth.” More.

Report on the impact of climate change on rural women and the ecosystem in DR Congo

Our member "Aube Nouvelle pour la Femme et Dévelopement" (ANFD) has issued a report concerning the impact of climate change on gender relations in rural areas of Eastern DR Congo. They elaborate on the effects of increased deforestation and land degradation on the expansion of gender inequalities. This is due to the gradual disappearance of forests, which forces rural women, who are collecting firewood, to travel longer distances. At the same time, the consumption of charcoal in urban areas is increasing. The reliance of rural women on natural resources, such as firewood, makes them vulnerable to the effects of environmental stress, “increasing their workload, reducing their access to land and other resources, and damaging their access to natural resources and health”. The report focuses on the “complex link between women, the environment, agriculture and sustainable development”. Some of the activities by ANFD are educating the population on the negative impacts of climate change due to deforestation and land degradation. They also report on the mobilisation of youth initiative capacities and the distribution of improved stoves that would lower the demand for firewood and charcoal.

 

                          

News on Gender and Climate Change

Progress on the sustainable development goals

The UN released their data report on the progress of gender equality on the 17 sustainable development goals. Across the range of all goals, they addressed available data on gender equality concerning topics such as health, poverty, and education and also pointed into the direction of future progress.  For the establishment of gender equality baselines and to measure progress of gender equality, more gender-related data is needed. Find more information here.

Young Women of Colour fighting climate change

This article by Amnesty International celebrates five young women of colour who are fighting for climate justice. The activists are involved in the Fridays for Future movement in Uganda, indigenous rights in Brazil and Canada, the US Youth Climate Strike, and issues of public health in India.

Climate Crisis accelerating Gender based violence in the Pacific islands

The interconnection of gender based violence (GBV) and the climate crisis is visible in natural disasters in the Pacific Islands. Natural disasters caused by climate change threaten the safety of women who are placed in more vulnerable positions in society. Extreme weather events and environmental degradation impacts homes, livelihoods and community social networks in general but women are disproportionately more affected. In Pacific Island countries, the coastal communities are dependent on natural resources for sustenance and sustainability, which is impacted by natural disasters such as sea level rise or storms. These disasters can cause precarious circumstances such as migration and displacement, which put women and children at greater risk of sexual and domestic violence. To combat these outcomes, there’s an urgent need for an efficient social support network at the local level. At the global level, there are organizations, such as the 350 Pacific Climate Warriors, challenging the fossil fuel industry as a contributing factor to the climate crisis, holding the global north accountable and urging human rights activists worldwide to show solidarity with Pacific women. More information here.

Who is Who at GenderCC

Franziska Stambke: our intern from November 2019 – January 2020

Our new intern Franziska is currently finishing her Master’s degree of Social Studies of Gender at Lund University in Sweden, where she studies social change from a feminist and intersectional perspective. She is particularly interested in feminist political ecology as well as the social construction of gender and its effects on climate change. She has previously volunteered at the Amnesty International group of Lund University, with a focus on LGBTQI rights. She is excited to work with us for the next few months and support the secretariat.

Publications

Towards a feminist funding ecosystem, AWID

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) explains the feminist view on a funding ecosystem, a system where people leading the social change are supported by other actors in environmental, political, and social structures that determine the distribution of resources. It is a concept in response of the unequal distribution of resources and aiming to a feminist and ecological social change. More.

Feminist Foreign Policy Discussion Series: Furthering Accountability & Centering Climate Change, ICRWF and WEDO

This summary of the discussion seminar on Feminist Foreign Policies (FFP), organised in June 2019 in Canada  by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and our partner, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), provides an insight on the theories and analysis on “how feminist foreign policy could be structured to ensure not only the advancement of gender equality and women’s human rights but environmental integrity, especially in the context of a global climate crisis that disproportionately impacts women and minority groups.” More.

Recent UNFCCC documents on gender

Informal document containing the status of implementation of the Gender Action Plan and suggested recommendations for improvement, UNFCCC Secretariat

To facilitate the gender negotiations at COP25, the Secretariat has prepared this informal document containing a summary of the status of implementation of the GAP, as well as a comprehensive list of the recommendations for an improved GAP. More.

Informal document containing the status of implementation of the Lima Work Programme and suggested recommendations for improvement, UNFCCC Secretariat

To facilitate the gender negotiations at COP25, the Secretariat has prepared this informal document containing a summary of the status of implementation of the LWPG, as well as a comprehensive list of the recommendations for an improved LWPG. More.

Implementation of the Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan, UNFCCC Secretariat

The report synthesises information provided in submissions and discussed at workshops on the implementation of the Lima work programme on gender and the gender action plan for consideration in the review process. It contains analysis of areas of progress, areas for improvement and further work to be undertaken in subsequent action plans. In addition, it highlights the importance of the Lima work programme on gender and the gender action plan as a platform for convening a range of stakeholders under the UNFCCC to advance and provide information on initiatives related to knowledge-sharing, gender balance, coherence, implementation, and monitoring and reporting. More.

Calendar of Events

2-13 December 2019, Madrid, Spain: UN Climate Change Conference (COP25)

 

GenderCC will attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, organizing and participating in numerous events. More.



2-7 December 2019, Santiago de Chile, Chile: Cumbre de los Pueblos


The people’s summit in Chile will be attended by Melissa Moreano, from the team of the “Not without Us!” project, presenting local stories produced by each team. More.



6-13 December 2019, Madrid, Spain


At the social summit, the project team of “Not without us!” also plans to launch the same local stories as at the Cumbre de los Pueblos. More.



8-13 February 2020, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 10th World Urban Forum

"Organized and convened by UN-Habitat, the World Urban Forum has become the foremost international gathering for exchanging views and experiences on sustainable urbanization in all its ramifications". GenderCC will attend its 10th edition, presenting a training on the GUCCI project. More.