Panel Discussion on Renewable Energy and Gender Justice

On 12 November, on the last day of CoP26, GI-ESCR, and Oxfam Mexico jointly with Prodesc, AIDA, and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre convened a panel discussion on renewable energy and gender justice. The event aims to present the report on renewable energy and gender justice co-published by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) and Oxfam Mexico. During the event, three leading experts working for a just energy transition in the Latin American region will address the intersection between renewable energy and gender equality and share their reflections on the risks and opportunities that the global energy transitions represent for the realisation of women's rights.

In this conversation we will hear from renowned experts and activists who will spark the conversation on how we can catalyse the transformative potential of renewable energy, namely:

·         Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Executive Director of GI-ESCR and former UN Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

·         Alexandra Haas, Executive Director of Oxfam Mexico.

·         Alejandra Ancheita, Executive Director of ProDESC.

The event will bring the opportunity to discuss how, for more than 200 years, the predominant energy model has promoted an extractivist and fossil fuel-based policy that has exacerbated the nodes of inequality and marginalisation. As highlighted by the report, it is imperative to transform the current energy paradigm and ensure that the energy transition is not just a technical shift from one form of energy to another, but an opportunity to integrate human rights and gender equality principles into the development of new renewable energy systems.