Feminist Climate Justice: Empowering women and girls through the rule of law

SIDE EVENT
Friday 3 June
15:15-16:30 CEST
Stockholmsmässan, Room 4

Organizers: International Development Law Organization, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Rights and Resources Initiative, Government of Peru, UN Women

About: Women and girls are at the forefront of transformative climate action. Societies with higher levels of gender equality are also characterised by less deforestation, air pollution and resource loss. Evidence shows that rebalancing the governance of land and natural resources to provide equal opportunities for women enhances biodiversity preservation, strengthens food security, and promotes the health of communities. Despite this, women remain underrepresented in environmental decision-making, and are often portrayed in climate discourse as passive victims of climate change rather than holders of unique and diverse knowledge and skills.

As the only intergovernmental organisation exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to enable peace and sustainable development, and with a strong track record on gender justice, IDLO is uniquely positioned at Stockholm+50 to facilitate discussions on how rule of law approaches to feminist climate action can transform legal and institutional processes related to climate and environmental governance.

This event will discuss how concrete measures and initiatives to empower women and girls to claim their environmental rights can advance a healthy planet for the prosperity of all, turn global commitments into local action, break through silos, and catalyse progress in the Decade of Action in line with Leadership Dialogue 3.

Moderator(s): Jan Beagle (International Development Law Organization)

Panelists:

  • Modesto Montoya (Ministry of Environment, Government of Peru)
  • Carin Jämtin (Sida)
  • Archana Soreng (UN Secretary General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change)
  • Sarah Hendriks (UN Women)
  • Camila Zepeda Lizama (Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mexico)
  • Omaira Bolaños (Rights and Resources Initiative)
  • Lotta Sylwander (Sida)
  • Yamide Dagnet (Open Society Foundations)

Contact person: Ilaria Bottigliero (ibottigliero_at_idlo.int)

Event outcomes (Key transformative actions):

  • Actors at all levels must recognise and promote the rights and agency of women and girls to actively participate in and lead climate and environmental decision-making and governance. Evidence shows that when women overcome structural barriers to their participation, their contributions to climate justice and peace and security are transformative.
  • We must work to reform laws and institutions to ensure women’s ownership of land and their access to natural resources. Adopting a human rights-based approach can promote the effectiveness and sustainability of climate action initiatives and drive cross-cutting progress across the Sustainable Development Agenda. We must support and implement rule of law-based feminist approaches in order to correct the persistence of gender-based discrimination, inequality and patriarchal institutions that stand as barriers to climate justice. Intersectionality and intergenerational justice are important concepts in order to properly understand and address the short, medium and long-term consequences of climate change on women and girls that are compounded by, among others, age, race, ethnicity, language, geographic location, and nationality.
  • Governments, financial institutions, and development agencies must foster an approach to climate finance that promotes equitable funding for women-led climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, empowering them to catalyse community-based solutions to realise inclusive climate justice.

Return to Programme