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Climate Justice

As specialists in gender equality and social inclusion, climate justice is a priority for us. Climate change is making existing inequalities worse and having profound impacts on the people and communities we work with.  

We bring our gender equality and social inclusion expertise to the climate change space and mainstream climate justice throughout our work. 

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What is Climate Justice?

 

Our vision is for a just, sustainable and resilient world with equitable solutions to the climate crisis. 

The countries that have contributed the least to global warming are experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. Unequal distributions of power and resources increases the risks that people face from the climate crisis.  

Women and girls, people with disabilities, and other socially excluded groups are often most affected as they are more likely to live in poverty, and less likely to have access to the information and resources they need to adapt. Responses to climate-related disasters are often not accessible for people with disabilities and don’t take into account the increased risks of gender-based violence. 

The voice and inclusion of excluded groups is critical to taking the action the world needs. Inclusive climate action also creates opportunities to promote equality.  

Our approach

 

Our work on climate justice brings our gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) expertise to the climate change response. We have an in-depth understanding of the wide-ranging effects of climate change and the connections with GESI.  

We partner with civil society, governments and the private sector to ensure gender equality and social inclusion is at the heart of climate action. We partner with civil society to amplify their voice and promote their leadership. 

We support organisations working on climate change, environmental degradation and disaster risk reduction to increase their ambition on GESI in their work by providing high-quality training, participatory GESI audits, and technical assistance.  

We produce cutting edge research and guidance, highlighting the linkages between climate change and areas including disability inclusion, education, energy and infrastructure, gender-based violence, and women’s economic empowerment. We also produced the first report on integrating a gender lens in the voluntary carbon market. 

“A huge thank you to you and the team for drafting this document. Overall, we found it impressively comprehensive and useful, clearly illustrating how the energy transition can have numerous co-benefits towards more inclusive societies, and helpful suggestions on how to maximise these benefits.”
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

If you would like to hear more about our work on Climate Justice, please reach out to Rebekah Martin, Climate Justice Lead, rebekah.martin@sddirect.org.uk.

Our approach to integrating Gender Equity, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) into technical assistance requests

This info note sets out the approach we take to integrating GEDSI into the CLEAN Helpdesk, which provides technical assistance on climate, environment and nature. We provide GEDSI guidance at every stage, from reviewing the initial terms of reference, to including GEDSI experts in the technical assistance team, and finally reviewing technical assistance outputs from a GEDSI and safeguarding perspective.

Key Considerations at the Intersection of Disasters, Climate Change and Gender-based Violence in the Asia-Pacific Region

This learning paper explores the links between climate, GBV, and disasters in Asia and the Pacific and considers key actions GBV specialists working in settings affected by climate change and disasters can take. Drawing from a desk review of relevant resources, it begins with a brief overview of the intersections of GBV, climate, and disasters, highlighting evidence that women and girls are often the most negatively affected by climate change and disasters yet the most excluded from climate action and disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness, response, and recovery.

Evaluating the Impact of Climate Change on Women and People with Disabilities

This study focuses on the impact of climate change on women and people living with a disability in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states in northern Nigeria. The study took a mixed methods approach involving a comprehensive literature review, key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with national and state level stakeholders and local participants, including women and people with disabilities and their representative organisations.

Integrating gender into the design, implementation and monitoring of carbon credit projects

SDDirect co-authored this comprehensive piece of practical guidance for carbon project developers on how they can integrate gender into the design, implementation and monitoring of carbon credit projects. In depth guidance is provided on women’s equitable leadership and participation in projects, equal employment opportunities and fair pay, equitable benefit sharing and compensation, protection against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), and accessible and inclusive grievance and reporting mechanisms.

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