What Room for Politics and Change in Global Climate Governance? Addressing Gender in Co-Benefits and Safeguards

Citation:

Westholm, Lisa, and Seema Arora-Jonsson. 2018. “What Room for Politics and Change in Global Climate Governance? Addressing Gender in Co-Benefits and Safeguards.” Environmental Politics 27 (5): 917–38.

Authors: Lisa Westholm, Seema Arora-Jonsson

Abstract:

Questions of equity, gender, power and rights are central to environmental justice in climate mitigation schemes such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Degradation). Drawing on the ideas of co-benefits and safeguards, the strategies for challenging mainstream discourse on gender in REDD+ – from the outside and within – are examined of two organisations that have attempted to bring a political concept – gender – into the largely technical discourse of climate policy. The analysis points to the risks of co-option that women’s organisations face, trying to challenge and change the mainstream discourse on gender in climate policy-making. The need for diverse and flexible strategies for resistance and influence in order to seize opportunities that may arise in countering the depoliticising force of global climate governance are highlighted.

Keywords: gender, climate change, REDD+, feminist influence, empowernment, collective action

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Rights

Year: 2018