January 2009/N°1 Gender in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation räêáâÉ=o ∏ Üê The United Nations has assumed obligations in all policy areas and programs of gender mainstream­ing. Gender equality has yet to be attained any­where in the world, however. Women and men have different societal and social roles and respon­sibilities. The legal situation of women and men differs greatly in many countries, as does their economic situation and their involvement and par­ticipation in decision-making. That is why it is not surprising that gender relations also play a role in climate change mitigation and adaptation to cli­mate change. This has not yet been sufficiently taken into account, however, in the concrete im­plementation of climate policy at the local or na­tional levels. It is apparent that there is a paucity of data in the area of gender and climate change mitigation. Nevertheless, there is much to indicate what an important role gender relations play in seeking to understand the causes of climate change and its mitigation. Taking this role into account is of cru­cial importance if we are to successfully adapt to the consequences of climate change, some of which have already manifested themselves. 1. Greater burdens and less time for education and gainful employment by women and girls In most societies women are responsible for the household and for taking care of children and older people. They have the task of feeding the family, providing clean water and energy for the home. At the same time they generate income, thus making a considerable contribution to com­bating poverty. Climate change can cause an addi­tional strain on women who already bear a double or even triple burden. The exhaustion of natural resources and drop in agricultural productivity, for instance, increases the time which has to be devoted to growing and harvesting plants and crops for household use or to sell on the local market. In many regions of the world women perform most of the agricultural work, but their access to, and control over, land is restricted. Often they are only able to farm land which is less fertile and hence not suited for the production of cash crops for export. The acceler­ated deterioration of soil productivity caused by climate change is forcing many women to devote more time to producing food for their families. The tools and measures used to mitigate climate change may possibly exacerbate this situation. Skyrocketing food prices in early 2008 clearly indi­cate what impact reforesting measures(on planta­tions) or the use of agro-fuels can have – especially for the poor strata of the population. 2. Disadvantages resulting from market­based climate change mitigation The expansion of environmental services to include commonly used resources and environmental re­sources marginalizes those who are not able to purchase water, wood to build fires or medicine. The group of economically disadvantaged people for the most part includes women, indigenous and landless persons. These people lack formal land rights, marketing capabilities, investment capital and the information they need to be able to com­pete in the markets for environmental services. In addition to this, market-based tools tend to benefit those agents causing the problem: for in­stance, some climate change mitigation tools pro­vide for compensation for foregone profits to be paid to those persons who have been responsible for deforestation. Those persons who have pro­tected the forest, living off of it and in it, come out empty-handed. What is worse, they are prohibited from using the forest in a sustainable manner as they have in the past when the forest is placed under protection. Once again, it is above all women who are affected, as they were not the ones who profited from deforestation in the past and hence will not be the beneficiaries of meas­ures aimed at protecting forests in the future, ei­ther.