Women will be the hardest hit by climate change

The UN Population Fund has published their latest report, State of World Population 2009. The authors are focused in this report on the impact of climate change on the human population. As I have argued in previous posts, climate change is no longer a question. It is happening and it is due to human activities. The rapid change is inevitable. The uncertainty now is on the impact to the human population and the environment.

History has lessons for us on how we will deal with the inevitable change. It doesn't need to be a disaster, like a tsunami or a hurricane or an earthquake -- though disasters like that will occur as a result -- it can subtle -- like changing weather patterns that bring floods or droughts. Just small changes that doesn't necessarily punch an immediate hole in our day-to-day should be reflected on, to forecast what's coming.

When subtle change comes, we the rich, will be able to cope. We the rich will have choices. We are much more capable of adaptation than the poor. We, the rich world, that shoulder much more of the blame for the change in the climate, will be the ones who will be relatively OK. The poor will suffer. And the poorest of the poor that will take the brunt of the suffering, will be women and girls.

Women and girls remain the poorest of the poor in the world. They are less educated, less mobile and have less choices than men. In families, they carry the burden of child rearing and ensuring there is food to feed the hungry mouths. As food prices increase due to climate change, women will face the burden of bringing in additional income. In developing responses to climate change, policy makers will need to specifically address differences in impacts on men and women.

"Gender refers to the differences in socially constructed roles and opportunities associated with being a man or a woman and the interactions and social relations between men and women. Gender is not only about women. Policies that aim to address any aspect of climate change will be less effective if they fail to take into account the differences between men, women, boys and girls. Gender-blind policies may exacerbate the problems associated with climate change by widening inequalities between sexes. Special attention may be required to compensate for inequalities that women currently face.

Given women's significant engagement in food production and preparation and the potential for land use to contribute to climate-change solutions in developing countries, the close connection between gender, farming and climate change deserves far more analysis than it currently receives. Because of greater poverty, lesser power over their own lives, less recognition of their economic productivity and their disproportionate burden in reproduction and child-raising, women face additional challenges as climate changes. The recent experiences of natural disasters -- some logically related to climate change, others clearly not -- indicate that women are more likley to lose their lives and otherwise fare worse than men in extreme events from heat waves to hurricanes and tsunamis."

The report urges leaders of the world to put people at the centre of climate change discussions -- and specifically, to address the gender differences. The nations of the rich world have responded. In a smack-in-face-irony, the G7 meeting in Iqaluit will not discuss climate change -- despite a Canada funded study that shows the Arctic is melting faster. To further send a mixed message, Harper has stated that "Canada will champion a major initiative to impro

in reference to: UNFPA - State of World Population 2009 (view on Google Sidewiki)