Policy Brief
Aug 28, 2024Gender, Climate and Energy in the U.S.: Building a Feminist Energy System
We cannot confront the climate crisis without transforming our current energy system, dismantling an energy system built on extraction, colonialism, and injustice — and building something different in its place.
Following the release of the first U.S. brief on Transport, Climate and Energy, WEDO is launching its second on August 28, 2024, authored by Sanjana Paul, on the intersection of gender, climate, and energy in the U.S.
The brief puts forward critical gender considerations for energy decision-making practices, accessibility, affordability, health and safety issues, inequities in the gendered employment within the energy sector, and beyond.
The energy sector is fundamentally intertwined with climate change, both as a contributor to and impacted by climate-related transformations. As one of the most influential actors in the global climate system, the energy system accounts for over three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to human activity. These emissions have detrimental impacts on the environment, human health, and socio-economic development. The energy sector, including renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, is also vulnerable to climate change impacts, including rising temperatures, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and water scarcity. These impacts can disrupt energy networks, damage infrastructure, and pose safety risks to people and communities, disproportionately affecting those made vulnerable by environmental racism and other racial, gendered, and class-based inequalities.
Therefore, it is essential to pursue a robust energy policy framework that supports a just transition to a low-carbon, resilient, and rights-based energy system.
An accompanying launch event on August 28 brought together a panel of energy and feminist advocates, organizers, and activists approaching the transformation of the energy system in different ways, teaching us about their analysis, ongoing work, and visions for more just energy systems.
Watch the launch event below:
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