Last 23 September, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) participated in a podcast organized by Ombusman Energía Mexico (OEM), a civil society organization of energy experts dedicated to empowering citizens and energy users in Mexico, to detonate the conversation with broader audiences on the implications of the energy transition for women’s rights and the advancement of gender equality.

During the conversation, Alejandra Lozano, GI-ESCR Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice presented the report on Renewable Energy and Gender Justice published by GI-ESCR in 2020. She highlighted that the fossil fuel energy model of the past 200 years has been gender blind, ignoring women’s energy needs and skills, and as a result has generated gender inequalities in access to and control of energy, including a feminised picture of energy poverty and a male-dominated picture of the energy sector (oil, gas and coal) and energy policy.

The podcast provided the opprtunity to discuss some of the key messages contained in GI-ESCR’s briefing paper, and provide a general outlook on the main risks and opportunities that energy transition represent for women and girls. As the energy transition moves foward, the global restructuring of energy system will provide a significant opportunity to address the gender deficits of the current energy model and to embed principles of gender equality and justice in the design of new energy systems, to ensure they advance gender equality. As the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights explained, actions to transition to renewable energy offer a ‘triple dividend’ by reducing emissions, contributing to more biodiverse societies and tackling poverty and inequality through employment opportunities and increasing energy access’. This is particularly the case for women who are under-represented in the energy sector and who are over-represented in assessments of energy poverty.

GI-ESCR participation contributed to the reflection on why do we need to challenge dominant energy paradigms and harness the opportunities presented by this global energy transformation to address structutal patterns of exclusion in new energy systems. As the briefing report by GI-ESCR’s states, “the voices of women from communities and groups most affected by renewable energy policies and by energy poverty must play a central role in this process, given that it is through their experiences and expertise that we will better understand the gendered impacts of renewable energy policies and catalyse their transformative potential for gender equality.”

Watch the full video HERE!