IFIwatchnet

There are gender dimensions to climate change and the role of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in extractive industry projects that must be addressed as we work towards solutions to the climate crisis. For example:

• Harmful Impacts of Extractive Industry Projects on Women: Aside from the well-known environmental problems associated with oil and gas projects, a recent report by Gender Action and CEE Bankwatch finds that extractive industry projects funded by the IFIs can also have serious gender impacts such as increased violence against women, trafficking in women, sexual harassment, and increased sexually transmitted diseases. The World Bank is starting to acknowledge this rhetorically, but insiders within its private-sector lending arm, the International Finance Corporation report that most IFC staff are still totally in denial.
• Men have a Larger Ecological Footprint than Women: A recent report finds that “women globally live in a more sustainable way than men, leave a smaller ecological footprint and cause less climate change.” This is because women have relatively less access to resources and less power than men, and therefore have different life style and consumption patterns.
• Energy Poverty Affects Women More than Men: Ironically, while the largely U.S. and European-based male corporation heads benefit from big oil projects and consume the majority share of the earth’s energy, low-income women in many countries do not have the most basic, reliable sources of energy and must gather wood and dung to provide fuel for heating and cooking in the household.
• Environmental Damage Hits Women Hardest: While men have a larger ecological footprint, women and girls are often hurt most from climate disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which an Oxfam report suggests killed more women than men. Climate change—and bad World Bank and IMF loan conditions--have contributed to food insecurity in Southern African countries like Malawi, where reports indicate that as recently as December 2005 women and girls were forced to scavenge for roots and tubers, or join the sex trade to feed themselves and their families.

Most modern feminists (men and women who promote gender equality) and environmentalists would agree that these gender issues do not imply that men should be disempowered to boost women’s energy consumption. Rather, we need to find sustainable solutions somewhere in between.

For more resources, see the Women’s Environment & Development Organization webpage on Gender & Climate Change Resources.