Mitigating the effects of climate changeis a key pillar of sustainable development. However, often the effects that climate change has on women and girls is not fully recognised. In this SoroptiVoice Blog, SI UN Representative to the UN’s Environment Agency, Alice Odingo,discusses why climate change is such an important issue for women and girls and what can be done to empower them in combatting climate change. 

Climate
change, Resources and the Sustainable Development Goals

"The impact of climate change on women
and girls is often underestimated. Women are farmers, responsible for
collecting water and firewood and feed their households. Livelihoods and
ecosystems are endangered because of rising fossil fuel consumption driven by
an increasing global population. Climate change can cause people to become internally displaced and environmental refugees (in the form of forced
migration), and increases the possibility of rural to urban migration. Additionally,
climate change can drive conflicts about natural resources, seen by the
scramble for water and pasture in arid and semi-arid areas, as seen in Mali.    Degradation of biodiversity resources would
reduce oxygen replenishment and reliable rainfall essential for life on earth.

Even though the Millennium
Development Goal 7 promised to halve the number of people without sustainable
access to water and sanitation by 2015, it is still unlikely to be achieved as by
2025, 32 percent of Africans will be living in water stressed countries. Under
achievement of the MDGs on environment and the challenges of climate change motivated
the creation of an ambitious new global development agenda, the 2030 Agenda and
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, despite the ambitions of the
SDGs, if we continue under ‘business-as-usual’ conditions, it will be
impossible to achieve these new development goals.  

SDG 13 is ‘Take urgent action to
combat climate change’, however climate change is relevant to many of the other
goals.

Poverty is a major contributing
factor to environmental degradation (as the poor depend directly on natural
environmental resources for survival-trees, grass, medicinal plants, and soil,
among others, which get overused) thus affecting a majority of women and girls,
whose livelihoods are characterized by high levels of poverty.  In terms of health, climate change will
increase the incidence of many diseases; flooding and drought affect the spread
of water-borne diseases and temperature changes can cause diseases to spread to
new areas.

Creating sustainable cities is
essential in promoting climate change adaptation as they receive many young
people from the rural areas who are also at the centre of innovation in these
areas.  SDG 12, ‘ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns’ is vital not only in meeting the SDG on
climate change by reducing emissions, but also in reducing other wastes that
choke the planet.  Without gender
equality (SDG 5), it means that at least 50 percent of the population (women), will
be left out of efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change
and influence climate change policy. The SDGs must be addressed concurrently to
achieve the required climate change targets by 2050. 

 

Image: SI Madurai, Indai, march to raise awareness on climate change

Emerging
Climate Risks

Emerging climate risks include:

• Unpredictable and
  unreliable rainfall amounts, and increasing temperatures, leading to low
  food productivity, water scarcity, and insufficient energy for all. 
• Changes in
  biodiversity due to deforestation affects the stability of ecosystems and
  thus making it harder to manage the local, national and regional
  environmental standards.   
• The livestock
  production responsible for maintaining incomes and food security in many
  households, particularly, among developing countries in Africa, is under
  threat from climate change. 

The world cannot afford to ignore these
risks, but should collaboratively design a practical strategy, mobilize
resources and act now to minimize possible effects on life, livelihoods and the
health of the planet. The SDGs could provide the mechanism to do this.

UNEP’s
Response in 2030 Agenda

UNEPs response to climate change
under the Inclusive Green Growth strategy aims at maximizing the benefits to
human wellbeing that are delivered from a healthy environment, and to reduce
global warming by 0.6⁰C by 2050. 
There are also efforts to accelerate development and ensure that
technologies that can help people adapt to climate change and mitigate its
effects are shared with developing communities. Other issues being worked on
include deforestation and desertification.

As part of UNEP’s suggested responses
SI can implement projects on climate change adaptation and mitigation within
its constituency as steps to reach the target for emissions by 2050.  SI can also enhance technology transfer by
offering training to member clubs (for example in assembling and maintaining
solar lamps and other environment friendly technologies for climate adaptation),
including study tours and relevant education through strategic grants or
scholarships within its capability.  Reforestation
and afforestation of degraded areas are important as efforts to decrease the
amount of CO₂.  It is also
important to prioritize projects on renewable and clean energy, sustainable
agriculture and related technologies as well as water and sanitation security
which directly benefit the poor, yet make enormous contribution in addressing
the climate change challenge."

By Soroptimist International UN Representative in Nairobi, Alice Oluoko-Odingo