E G N A H C CLIMATE CLIMATE JUSTICE & R E D N E G WHAT’S AT STAKE? Paris is a key moment for climate justice! →C limate change is a global injustice facing present and future generations, and one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time. In the last 6 years, 2% of the world population has been displaced by climate-related disasters alone. By 2050, 200 million people are expected to be displaced KE UP by climate change. This “WOMEN MAMILLION 6 20 OF THE 2REFUGEES will create a tremendous D ESTIMATE ED BY pressure on less affected DISPLAC ANGE” countries. Business as CLIMATE CH usual is simply not an option. →C limate change is not just a scientific or environmental issue – it is also about human rights, gender equality and development.
→ Climate change is not gender-neutral. Women are disproportionally and more severely affected by climate change. Today women make up 20 of the 26 million estimated refugees displaced by climate change. Women, thus comprise 80% of the world’s climate refugees. Yet less than 1% of climate funding is allocated specifically towards the need of women in the most affected countries. Empower women and we can change the world! → The balance between adaptation and mitigation is unjust – those who need the most, get the least. → Climate funding is big business and the most affected – and the most vulnerable – are not part of the deal. → Climate justice is not part of the climate regime at the moment. We need to change that!
WHAT THE GREENS STAND FOR →R aising awareness on climate justice and the social and demographic consequences of climate change, such as the challenge caused by 200 million climate refugees and the need for gender equality as a prerequisite to tackle climate change. →D eveloped countries have grown wealthy due to the exploitation of fossil fuels and natural resources worldwide. Therefore they have a responsibility to help developing countries to adapt to climate change and to make the transition towards zero carbon development models. To date this responsibility has not been met, which has eroded trust and quashed ambition in the negotiations.
→ RIGHTS – A human rights based approach is needed to ensure that climate change and climate mitigation and adaptation policies do not endanger the full enjoyment of human rights. Against the opposition of a group of countries led by Saudi-Arabia, and despite the shameful quietness of the EU on that topic, clear language on a human rights based approach has been included in the draft 2015 climate agreement, thanks to the so-called Geneva Pledge initiated by the UN Special envoy on climate change Mary Robinson. We now need to ensure this language is kept in the final deal. A fair deal that ensures human rights for all, gender equality and the right to development is not optional.
Climate justice must be integrated into all climate actions! WWW.STOPCLIMATECHANGE.NET
→ REPRESENTATION – Women need to be represented at all levels in the UN climate regime and in the Green Climate Fund; at present women are largely under-represented in decision-making processes regarding climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and the resource allocation for adaptation/migration.
→ RESOURCES – A fair resource allocation between mitigation and adaptation must be ensured. Women are affected differently and more severely by climate change and its impact on agriculture, natural disasters, migrations, etc. due to social roles, discrimination and poverty. The Greens push for a fair transition where no one is left behind, with opportunities for all as well as gender equality.
OUR VISION •
• The actions we need to take to achieve sustainable
development are the same actions we need to take to adapt to climate change and implement an economy based on 100% renewable energy sources – we need a green bio-based circular economy, which is defined by a value based rationality, human rights and gender equality. • The New Climate Economy Report produced by the
Calderon Commission of which Nicholas Stern is a member, finds that over the next 15 years, about US $90 trillion will be invested in infrastructure in the world’s cities, agriculture and energy. This gives the world an unprecedented opportunity to drive investment in lowcarbon growth, bringing multiple benefits to jobs, health, business productivity and quality of life. Similar to Mary Robinson‘s work on Zero carbon Zero poverty, the report finds that climate action and high quality growth are not just compatible, but that climate action is necessary for short and long term prosperity. Above all, the commission stresses that countries of all levels of income can seize these opportunities, particularly if the 2015 processes send clear signals that we are leaving the „business as usual“ approach behind. Investment to boost local employment and the green economy.
CITIZENS’ BENEFITS FROM FURTHER ACTION → A FAIR TRANSITION! No country alone can protect their citizens from the impacts of dangerous climate change. All countries and citizens must act together motivated by enlightened self-interest and human solidarity for a better future for all. As Mary Robinson has put it, it is in our collective self-interest to support this transition and this new model of development – as without it we will exceed the carbon budget and be forced to accept the consequences of a 4°C world. And that world will be far more unfair and unjust than the one we live in now. A fair transition is one where no one is left behind, neither the workers dependent on the fossil fuel industry, nor the people who are poor, and live in situations where they are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A fair transition looks means opportunities for industrial transformation and new quality jobs in the green economy, as well as greater equality.
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