By ISABELA TABARELLI CABRAL, MARIANA PERA DE ALMEIDA, RAFAELA CASTILHO MIRANDA & ANA BEATRIZ AQUINO*
Women's resilience and political engagement in the G20 in the face of climate change
The growing climate crisis and imminent environmental catastrophes make up an economic, social and geopolitical structural complex (Lima; Loeb, 2021; Sólon, 2019) associated with the maintenance of institutions of power and dominant groups that reaffirm a development model guided by the transfer of costs socio-environmental benefits to the most vulnerable popular classes (Carneiro et al, 2012; Lima; Loeb, 2021). Within this scenario, women stand out, both as vectors of change and due to the susceptibility to which they are exposed (UNICEF, 2023).
Although the debate about environmental issues has expanded since the 2020s (Lima; Loeb, 2023), the intersection between climate change and gender has been a neglected topic (UNICEF, 20). When they occur, disasters fall disproportionately on women and girls, intensifying existing weaknesses, whether by increasing cases of violence (physical and psychological) and forced displacement (G2022, 2021), or by subjecting them to poverty, school dropout and overload resulting from the sexual division of labor (Lima, Leob, 2023; IBP, XNUMX).
Despite being exposed to socio-environmental vulnerability, women are still important agents in the fight against climate change (UNICEF, 2023) and, therefore, in the search for climate justice through territorial actions that aim to mitigate the impacts of environmental crises (Brazil, 2024). The struggle, however, is not restricted to the climate sphere, also revealing itself in the political-institutional arena, where under-representation and unequal participation in the decision-making process of political construction make it difficult for women to act (Brazil, 2024; UNICEF, 2023).
The removal of women and girls from the political arena, especially during the formulation of public policies, creates a deeply biased political agenda, as argued by Flávia Biroli (2016), since the manifestation of sexual division in decision-making and public expression spaces supports the maintenance of power resources – material and symbolic – by dominant groups. Thus, the search for climate justice, led by several women, is parallel to the search for equitable participation (Brazil, 2024; UNICEF, 2023; G20, 2022).
In view of this, the participation of women in global forums is an essential tool to combat the socio-environmental problems exposed and generated by climate change (G20, 2022). Participation, within decision-making spaces, makes it possible to build a political agenda focused on the needs and weaknesses faced by women in crisis situations, as well as their ability to adapt. In this way, the elaboration of actions, linked to the conduct bottom-up, allows resolutions given to situations of vulnerability, caused by climate catastrophes, to be effective (UNICEF, 2023).
In this context, international forums, such as the G20, function as spaces for deliberation in which women can promote local solutions to mitigate environmental crises, as well as increase the resilience of cities and communities susceptible to climate catastrophes (G20, 2022; UNICEF, 2023). Furthermore, the activities carried out by girls and women within these spaces strengthen female representation in the political-institutional arena and, thus, in the formation of the political agenda itself.
The women and climate change agenda at the G20
Climate emergencies are not gender-neutral, and within the G20, discussions about women and climate change have gradually evolved over the years, reflecting a growing awareness of the intersection between gender and environmental issues. In the early years, the G20's main focus was on global economic issues and the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Discussions on climate change began to gain more space, but the issue of gender was not yet central to these debates. Over time, especially with the Australian presidency in 2014 and the Turkish presidency in 2015, gender issues began to be mentioned, albeit in a limited way.
In 2015, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes gender equality as one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), influenced discussions at the G20. Under the Chinese presidency in 2016 and the German presidency in 2017, there has been an increase in awareness of the importance of gender equality.
The Argentine presidency in 2018 was particularly significant, as it promoted the inclusion of gender issues in discussions on sustainable development. Argentina launched the Women's Empowerment Initiative, recognizing the need to address gender inequality across all sectors, including responding to climate change. During the Japanese presidency in 2019, and the Saudi presidency in 2020, gender issues continue to gain prominence.
In 2020, the G20 launched the “woman 20” (W20), an official G20 engagement group focused on promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Discussions have begun to recognize more explicitly how women are disproportionately affected by climate change and the need for policies that address these vulnerabilities. Under the Italian presidency in 2021 and the Indonesian presidency in 2022, the focus on the intersection between gender and climate change has continued to grow.
Discussions highlighted the importance of including women in climate policy decisions, recognizing that equal participation can lead to more effective and sustainable solutions. Final statements at G20 meetings in recent years have begun to include specific commitments to promote gender equality and recognize women's role in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Since the creation of the W20 in 2015, discussions have evolved to recognize and more comprehensively address the intersection of gender and climate issues, reflecting a growing commitment to inclusive and equitable policies. During its creation, there were major milestones of evolution within its discussions, such as: Hangzhou Declaration (2016), Hamburg Summit (2017), Women's Empowerment Initiative (2018), Osaka Declaration (2019), Summit of Saudi Arabia (2020), Rome Declaration (2021), Indonesia Summit (2022) – where it was possible to deepen discussions on the importance of women's participation in debates on climate change.
In the Hangzhou Declaration in 2016, during the G20 summit in China, commitments to promote gender equality were included, highlighting the importance of women's participation in the digital economy and the workforce. At the 2017 Hamburg Summit in Germany, discussions focused on the need to integrate a gender perspective into economic and social development policies.
In 2018, during Argentina's G20 presidency, the Women's Empowerment Initiative was launched, emphasizing the promotion of gender equality in all spheres, including responding to climate change. In the Osaka Declaration in 2019, in Japan, commitments to gender equality were reinforced, and there were discussions about digital inclusion and women's participation in all economic sectors.
At the Saudi Arabia Summit in 2020, held virtually, discussions on women's vulnerability to climate change and the need for inclusive policies were strengthened. In the Rome Declaration in 2021, during the G20 summit in Italy, the commitment to gender equality and the inclusion of women in post-pandemic economic recovery policies was reaffirmed. At the 2022 Indonesia Summit in Bali, discussions deepened on the importance of female participation in mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as transitioning to a green economy.
In this sense, annual summits have included increasing commitments to integrate a gender perspective in climate policies. These discussions highlight challenges such as the lack of representation of women in climate and policy decisions, limited access to resources for women, and the need for gender-disaggregated data. The G20 has explored opportunities such as strengthening the role of the W20, developing inclusive policies, increasing female representation in climate leadership, and partnering to advance gender equality in climate initiatives.
W20 – promoting gender equity in the G20
The W20, conceived in Australia in 2014 and in activity since 2015, in the G20 Turkey, aims to develop recommendations for public policies in favor of the economic empowerment of women in 5 thematic areas: entrepreneurship, women in STEM, care economy, gender-based violence and climate justice (W20 Brazil, 2024).
Every year, women from different parts of civil society, organizations and think tanks come together to create a “communicated”, document with recommendations for G20 leaders. Through a consensus among all members, who have different realities and perceptions on gender issues, delegates play a crucial role in promoting gender equality and ensuring that women's voices and needs are heard and, most importantly, are priority topics on global policy agendas (Fontes, 2024).
This year the G20 presidency is held by Brazil, presenting the slogan “Building a fair world and a sustainable planet”, which demonstrates Brazil's commitment and desire to promote fair agreements that promote global economic and social development. However, according to Janaina Gama (2024), co-leader of W20 Brasil, there is no way to debate sustainability and justice without gender equity, so the activist points out the need for a fair and diverse debate, consistent with the variations Brazilian ethnic-racial.
Since the beginning of W20 Brazil activities, there have been efforts to ensure that the dialogues held are not restricted to the reality of specific regions, taking political discussions on gender equality to several cities in Brazil. On July 18, the engagement group held the 6th W20 Brazil National Dialogue, with the theme Climate Justice from the perspective of gender, ethnicity and race. The event was held in Belém (PA), a city that will be the center of discussions on climate change next year during COP 30.
The event, which featured the panels “Climate Justice, women and territory”, “Pathways to combat climate change and a fair and equitable energy transition” and “Public and private policies to combat climate change and a fair and equitable energy transition”, brought urgent topics to discussions on the subject, such as the inclusion of black, indigenous and quilombola women in the G20 climate change agenda.
During the dialogue, Mariana Belmont – advisor on climate and environmental racism at the Instituto Geledés (Institute of Black Women) – highlighted the importance of acting not only in mitigation, as was observed in May 2024 in Rio Grande do Sul, but in adapting to extreme weather events, through public policies such as national, state and municipal plans for adapting to climate change.
For Mariana Belmont, climate justice is related to the right to life and security, so it is necessary to guarantee the rights of citizens to live in their territories, without the threat of removal policies – which generate a loss of community ties, gentrification and whitening of territories. Representing UN Women, Larissa Cervi highlighted the need to review current governance arrangements, rethinking these spaces and expanding access to decision-making spaces to bring the perspectives of women in their diversity.
Isabela Tabarelli Cabral is a graduate student at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC).
Mariana Pera de Almeida is a graduate student at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC).
Rafaela Castilho Miranda is a graduate student at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC).
Ana Beatriz Aquino is a graduate student at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC).
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