The participants from all the Nordic countries, personally invited by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Ministers for Gender Equality, have contributed to the composition of concrete, practical requirements. All of the recommendations can be downloaded at www.lige.dk; below is a presentation of some of them:
• Gender equality should be a basic principle in the negotiation process and an integral part of the new climate agreement.
Gender equality will pave the way for a more efficient solution to the acute adaptation problems within, for example, farming
and water supply, which are usually female domains in developing countries.
• Investments in gender equality should motivate innovation and sustainable development. There is a need for access to all
human resources and talents. Men and women think differently and contribute differently to solutions. In order to secure this
diversity, men and women are to have equal access to influencing and utilising investments in climate measures.
• A clear Nordic development aid profile on gender equality and climate should be created. The Nordic countries are to decide
that a considerable percentage of the development aid is to be earmarked for gender sensitive climate projects.
• Equal access to sustainable technology for women and men should be created. It is a basic right that women and men have
equal access to technologies which can reduce their emission of greenhouse gases. Women must have direct access to given technologies
rather than access mediated by men.
• Technology, innovation and design must include both a climate and a gender equality perspective. We should make use of women’s
and men’s different access routes, knowledge and competencies in technology development and implementation.
• The public sectors in industrial countries should take the lead in CO2 reduction. The public sector has the size and financial
power to create the market needed and thus to create and affect demand. A new trend will be set when the products and the
services are there and the public sector can pay for them. It will also “de-gender” the debate, so that what is the right
kind of action is the main issue – regardless of gender.
• It must be secured that the local knowledge, experiences and needs of both genders are included in the application of all
interventions and all political decision processes concerning adaptation.
• By 2014, the boards and top managements of public and private enterprises are to have a gender balance of a minimum of 60–40.
The reduction of climate gases is a global challenge. It requires a great deal of inventiveness, a range of competencies,
support from the public and willpower. Therefore we must make use of all the available resources in society. Women and men
have different experiences and both are to be considered in the decision making process. Women and men are to carry the same
responsibility for the future development of society.
Recommendations to the EU
The international research conference on Gendering Climate and Sustainability, hosted by the University of Copenhagen on 13-14 March 2009, also launched recommendations aimed at governments and research communities at national, regional and global levels. The following recommendations are intended for the European Commission and the European Parliament:
• Explicit integration of gender and equality in upcoming FP7 research programmes, in particular programmes related to transport,
energy, food and nutrition.
• Issue of a Parliamentary Report and a Parliamentary Hearing on the issues of gender, climate and sustainability.
• Launch of a European Programme for research and innovation with the theme Gender, Climate and Sustainability.
• Launch of a European Programme focused on sustainable environmental and social developments.
This article has been published in NIKK magasin 2 2009 © NIKK
