Roundtable on Renewable Energy and Gender Justice, a step forward for women's rights

The Roundtable discussion on Renewable Energy and Gender Justice organised by GI-ESCR and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung this 26 November 2020 brought together women’s rights activists and experts from across the world. We collectively analysed the risks and opportunities for women’s rights of the transition to renewable energy and identified strategies and mechanisms to demand a gender-responsive energy transition.

The event facilitated networking and an exchange of experiences amongst women’s rights advocates and human rights experts from the the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls (WGDWG). We heard stories of solar energy enterprises from Palestine and South Africa, the campaign to address energy poverty in Spain and testimonies from Indonesian and Mexican women explaining the adverse impacts of wind farms on their communities.

The Roundtable created momentum, both as a space for movement building and for advancing a common understanding and advocacy proposals towards stronger gender-responsive policy-making by States and international institutions.

The Outcome Paper summarising the discussions and interventions is available below.

If responsive to women’s contexts and needs, renewable energy projects can make a significant contribution to advancing the social and economic rights of women.

A gender-just transition can only occur with the full and genuine participation of women.

A transition away from fossil-fuel towards renewable energy sources is inevitable, but what are the implications for women’s rights? The transition presents an 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.

GI-ESCR has launched a Briefing Paper on Renewable Energy and Gender Justice analysing these issues. It provides an overview of the nexus between renewable energy and gender justice, drawing out several of the most significant opportunities and risks that the clean energy transition presents for women’s rights. It includes two case studies: from South Africa, on access to energy in urban communities, and from Mexico, on the impact of large-scale energy projects on human rights and how women human rights defenders are standing up for their communities’ rights.