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6F. CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY
80 United Nations Population Fund (2021), Five ways climate change hurts women and girls , available at: https:// www.unfpa.org/news/five-ways-climate-change-hurts-women-and-girls
81 FOUILLET, A.; REY, G.; LAURENT, F.; PAVILLON, G.; BELLEC, S.; GHIHENNEUC-JOUYAUX, C.; CLAVEL, J.; JOUGLA, E.; and HEMON, D. (2007), Excess mortality related to the August 2003 heat wave in France in Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2006 Oct, 80(1): 16 24, available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950160/
82 KRONSELL, A. (2013), Gender and transition in climate governance in Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions Volume 7, June 2013, Pages 1-15, available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/ pii/S2210422412000731
83 C40 Women4Climate (2019), Gender inclusive - Climate action in cities , available at: https://w4c.org/sites/ default/files/2019-02/W4C_REPORT_Gender%20Inclusive%20Climate%20Action%20in%20Cities_BD.pdf
84 United Nations Secretary-General (2022), Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes , available at: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3956348
Gender equality and sustainability are inherently linked, yet while many European cities are integrating sustainable development in their growth plans, many urban sustainability plans lack a purposeful integration of gender equity. Looking at sustainability and climate change through a gendered perspective can yield a number of synergies and support shared municipal goals. It is critical to include a gendered perspective into solutions to address the climate emergency. Globally, women are more affected by climate change and its negative consequences: they are more likely to die in climate change-related disasters, experience increased gender-based violence, or lose access to sexual and reproductive health services80 in their aftermath. For example, during the 2003 heatwave in France, mortality was 75% higher for women than for men81. However, most municipal programmes promoting sustainability do not take gender into account and women s participation in climate-related decision-making structures is negligible. Similar to other technical departments such as transport and planning, women are underrepresented in municipal decision-making structures related to climate and sustainability. At the World Energy Council for example, women make up only 4% of chairs and 18% of secretariats. In Spain, Sweden and Germany82, 64% of municipal energy companies have no women on their boards at all83. However, studies show that higher percentages of women leaders at both national and local levels are associated with stricter climate change policies and lower emissions84.
Including women s voices and collaborating with women s organisations can ensure climate policies meet the needs of all residents, and that they are effectively implemented. Municipalities can focus on ensuring that women s voices are heard on committees and boards related to climate and that mitigation policies are subject to gendered analyses. As shown in other parts of this report, for example chapter 3D on data and monitoring, 6A on urban planning or 6D on transport and mobility, improvements to sustainable transport systems and the reduction of car-dominated spaces in the city can have additional benefits for women s and girls quality of life. Linked up approaches such as Kate Raworth s doughnut economics or the conscious inclusion of SDG 5 into sustainable development plans can ensure that synergies are not lost and both social and ecological benefits are reaped.
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