GLOBAL SOLUTIONS JOURNAL ∙ ISSUE 5 ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS decision-making. Although the G20 has sources increase the workload of female Gender equality for addressed climate change, gender equal- farmers as it becomes harder for them to ity and health, it has done so in separate, secure household essentials. Consequent- siloed ways. Addressing the intersection of ly, girls are the first to leave school to help a sustainable future these issues and prioritizing the partici- manage the workload, thus decreasing pation of women in climate change deci- school enrollment rates for girls. Chang- sion making will lead to more equitable ing animal migration patterns and loss of G20 governance of the gender equality-climate and effective governance. It will also help biodiversity are increasing food insecurity contribute to meeting the United Nations and reliance on unhealthy, store-bought change link Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), foods. The resulting chronic undernutrition to which the G20 remains committed. The leads to higher rates of obesity and non- G20’s 2020 Summit in Riyadh has an op- communicable diseases such as diabetes. portunity to make progress on the link be- Weather-related crises and disasters also The author: INTRODUCTION tween gender equality and climate change, increase rates of gender-based violence, Scientists, stakeholders and the public as it aligns with Saudi Arabia’s two priori- with women and girls most at risk. Julia Kulik largely recognize the intense connec- ties of “Empowering People” and “Safe- Director of Research for tion between climate change and human guarding the Planet.” the G20 Research Group health. For many G20 members, wildfires, based at the Munk School » Given their of Global Affairs and flooding, extreme heat and Arctic thaw are THE CHALLENGE Public Policy consistently harming the health of their Climate change is the defining challenge unique citizens. The integral role of gender and its of our time. Rising temperatures cause intersection with climate change and hu- deadly extreme weather events at an in- knowledge and man health are also now widely recognized. creasing and alarming rate. Public opin- Women and girls are the most vulnerable ion polls now indicate that the majority of experience, to the associated health harms of climate people in all countries surveyed consider change in the Global South and also expe- climate change a “major threat to their women must rience gender-differentiated harms in the nation,” which makes it a truly global con- Global North. This vulnerability is driven by cern. The impacts of climate change, how- be empowered women’s confinement to traditional roles ever, are not equally distributed. Women The institution: as the primary users and managers of nat- and girls are disproportionately vulner- to lead in ural resources and as primary care givers. able, largely due to socially constructed It is exacerbated by other intersecting fac- norms that make them poorer and confine addressing tors such as poverty and indigeneity. Tradi- them to traditional caretaking roles. This tional food sources are increasingly at risk, is particularly true in the Global South, climate change The G20 Research Group is a global network which is leading to the increased onset and where women make up a large percentage of scholars, students and professionals in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases of the agricultural labor force, and also in at the global academic, research, business, non-govern- such as diabetes. Extreme weather events the Global North and specifically for Indig- mental and other communities who follow the increasingly cause displacement, death enous women who often experience the level.« work of the G20 leaders, finance ministers and and stress-related mental illnesses. impacts of climate change first and at a central bank governors, and other G20 institu- tions. It is directed from Trinity College and Yet, despite their unique lived expe- more rapid rate. Because women tend to be poorer, have the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public riences and vast knowledge, women do Changing patterns of rainfall, in- lower levels of access to financial informa- Policy at the University of Toronto. not participate fully in climate change creased drought and scarce natural re- tion and services, and have restricted de- 218 219 GLOBAL SOLUTIONS JOURNAL ∙ ISSUE 5 ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS cision-making ability, they are less able to to gender equality were absent altogether ing a specific target with a built-in, multi- yet Hamburg did not link gender to climate adapt and respond to climate crises. The from the next summits in Pittsburgh and year timeline on gender equality. change. Nonetheless, the G20 has made existing barriers to women’s full econom- Toronto. They appeared again in Seoul in In 2017, at the Hamburg Summit host- commitments that will contribute to ad- ic, political and social participation limit 2010 with references to promoting gender ed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, dressing the challenges within that link. their ability to make decisions not only at equality in the context of development and gender equality had its biggest surge. It These include empowering rural women the individual household level, but also acknowledging the gender gap in health. received priority placement in the chair’s and girls by increasing their access to fi- within the international frameworks gov- During this time, the G20 failed to trans- preamble. It carried forward references to nance and increasing the representation of erning climate change control. Given their late its deliberation on gender equality into gender equality and development, as they women and girls in STEM. unique knowledge and experience, women real, actionable commitments. related to the SDG agenda. It also men- must be empowered to lead in addressing tioned labor market inclusion and equity. G20 performance on climate change climate change at the global level. It made new references to the importance The G20 governance of climate change » The G20 has of education in science, technology, engi- also had a slow start. Much of the atten- G20 PERFORMANCE ON GENDER neering and mathematics (STEM) and of tion paid between 2008 and 2010 came in EQUALITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE made significant digital skills for girls. It expanded attention the context of the global financial crisis, Since the G20 first met at the leaders’ level to female entrepreneurship. It also paid including green growth and climate fi- in Washington, DC, in 2008, it has increas- progress in particular attention to female employment nance. The G20 also noted the importance ingly broadened its focus to include issues in Africa, supporting financial inclusion of supporting the negotiations under the beyond its original purpose to contain and expanding for female farmers and rural women, and UN Framework Convention on Climate control financial crises. Over the years, ending gender-based violence. Change. During this period, the G20 made as experts and the broader public began the scope of The Hamburg Summit was an effective significant commitments to phase out in- to recognize the adverse economic impli- example of gender mainstreaming, some- efficient fossil fuel subsidies over the me- cations of gender inequality and climate its attention thing that gender equality scholars and dium term and to support investments in change, the G20 has expanded its attention experts have been advocating for many alternative sources of renewable energy. to these two issues. Despite this increase on gender years. Attention plunged, however, at the From 2010 to 2016, G20 summit atten- and the evidence that women across the 2018 Buenos Aires Summit. The summit tion expanded by including the concepts globe are disproportionately affected by equality.« documents did refer to Canada’s adoption of green transportation and green cities. climate change, the G20 has failed to ac- of the “Gender Results Framework,” which Other subjects of note included low-car- knowledge the connection in its public de- tracks performance on gender equal- bon infrastructure, environmentally sus- liberations. As such, the following two sec- Between 2012 and 2016, attention to ity and identifies what is needed to move tainable food production and vehicle emis- tions assess the institution’s performance gender equality in communiqués gradually forward. Attention rebounded at the 2019 sions. During this period, the G20 leaders on gender equality and climate change increased in both size and scope. The focus Osaka Summit, where leaders reaffirmed committed to climate finance with a pledge separately. was predominantly on the full economic their commitment to increasing female to support the operationalization of the participation of women, with references to labor force participation, addressing the Green Climate Fund. G20 performance on gender equality skills training, equal pay for equal work, fair gender gap in unpaid care work, support- Attention to climate change spiked at G20 leaders first addressed gender equal- and equitable treatment in the workplace ing girls’ and women’s education in STEM, the 2017 Hamburg Summit. It referred to ity at the London Summit in 2009, by re- and financial inclusion. The 2014 Brisbane and empowering women in the agro-food an extensive range of subjects including ferring in their communiqué to building a Summit produced arguably the most well- sector. support for the UN’s Paris Agreement, en- fair and family-friendly labor market for known G20 gender equality commitment — The G20 has made significant progress ergy efficiency, climate resilience, disaster both men and women. This was an indi- to reduce the gap between men and women in expanding the scope of its attention on risk insurance and climate finance. Howev- rect recognition that expanded social poli- in the labor force by 25% by 2025. This was gender equality. Most notably, the 2017 er, the 2018 Buenos Aires Summit failed to cies would enable women to participate considered a major achievement, as it was Hamburg Summit, which made a major ef- make any significant progress on expand- more fully in the labor force.