WREC-IX Energy, Poverty Reduction, and Gender Summary

9-18-2006

The gender and energy part of the Congress focused on opportunities and challenges in energy, poverty reduction, and gender. It included a workshop roundtable discussion, a Congress plenary speaker, two technical sessions, and a joint panel with policy. Men and women from at least 24 countries participated in gender and energy sessions, including several graduate students. Invited speakers were Dominique Lallement, The World Bank; Sheila Oparaocha, ENERGIA; Dr. Jyoti Parikh, IRADE; Dr. Manorama Bawa, AIWC; and Laura Kuri, Bioregional Resource Center, Mexico. Other esteemed speakers from around the world presented 12 technical papers. A facilitated discussion of 50 participants (the majority men) resulted in recommendations that will be carried forward to international meetings, such as the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15). WRECs first included gender and energy tracks in 1998.

The Sunday workshop’s primarily focused on developing countries, where 70% of the world’s poor are women. Speakers reported that, since 1992's Agenda 21, gender issues have gradually been integrated into international agendas, including those of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which monitors progress with women as key stakeholders; and the Beijing Conference, which called for the integration of gender analysis in program design. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include universal childhood education, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. Although access to energy is not an MDG, the international community has now explicitly recognized the prominent role that energy services play in achieving the other MDGs. At CSD-9, energy and development were included in the international agenda and linked with women’s empowerment and poverty reduction. In September 2005, the MDG+5 summit defined energy as a crosscutting issue. In 2006, the World Bank held Energy Week and CSD-14 was convened. Women and energy are defined as key issues, with best practice, lessons learned, and gender issues defined (e.g., decision-making, time, health issues, production, and the design of houses in developing countries).

An international debate continues on investments to reduce energy poverty and local deprivation. In 2030, 1.4 bn people will probably still lack electricity and 2.6 bn will rely on basic biomass; 1.4 mn women and children will die of diseases from poor indoor air quality. India and Africa have the largest concentrations of the energy poor. Critical energy applications are income generation, nutrition, health, safe water, lighting, communications, and mechanical energy for work. Women lack education, access to credit, authority over the use of lands, basic legal rights, and access to energy. Girls cannot attend schools because they are gathering fuels; therefore women are left behind. The World Bank’s plan is designed to accelerate women’s access to land, financial markets, labor markets, and products and services markets to reach the MDGs. Professional women working in energy is increasing with positive impact for women’s programs (such as the Energy Ministry in Africa).

As a direct follow-up to WREC-IX and other consultations with gender and energy practitioners around the world, ENERGIA will take proposed policy options and actions to CSD-15 to address four challenges: (1) integrate gender perspectives into planning, decision-making, management and implementation, (2) enhance the roles and status of women as participants and agents of change, (3) provide access for all to reliable, affordable energy services, with particular attention to the rural and urban poor (especially women and children) to meet the MDGs, and (4) reduce air pollution, with particular attention to indoor air pollution from traditional biomass fuels and its health impacts on women, children, and the elderly of both sexes.

The Policy-Gender panel was organized around two broad themes: (1) drivers (local deprivation and economic and technological) and (2) needs (social advancement and environmental protection). Mmes. Lallement, Parikh, and Oparaocha competently answered challenging policy questions from a gender perspective. Key points included:

  • Women should be seen as agents of change, not victims. A gender-equitable society results in benefits to households and economies as a whole. Gender inequitable societies cannot be completely functional or sustainable. Strong political commitment is required.
  • To expedite such commitment, new female/male coalitions are needed which band together the reasonable against those who are unreasonable or indifferent. These coalitions would work to reduce barriers and achieve needed changes, recognizing reluctance to change (fear of the unknown and cultural conservatism), lack of awareness, shifting gender roles, fear of reaching out in case of rejection, and misunderstandings between the genders.
  • Appropriate energy technologies and energy-using devices (not just renewable energy technologies) are required; these must be affordable, accessible, and suited to local needs.
  • Women need more access to financing, full rights to property, ownership and control over lands, and authority to make decisions to help bring about real change.
  • To have qualified women to fill these roles, a serious effort in capacity building, education, and training is required.
  • Effective policy relies on a profound understanding of what is happening “on the ground”, and a preparedness to challenge longstanding local cultures and customs. Surveys, fieldwork, and national accounting must accurately reflect local deprivation and the real contributions of women.
  • In the developed world, action at the state and local levels where women have more influence than they do at national levels, can be effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The track was finalized by WREN’s recognition of the contribution made by organizations and professionals working on gender and energy issues, including the United Nations Development Programme (accepted by Susan McDade), the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) (accepted by Dominique Lallement), and The All-India Women’s Conference (AIWC) (accepted by Dr. Manorama Bawa). The researcher award was presented to Dr. Barbara Farhar (National Renewable Energy Laboratory).

Updated: Monday, 05-Mar-2007 20:28:48 PST