Report Launch A gender-transformative European Green Deal? How to deliver policies for people and planet

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the political centrepiece of her Commission, the European Green Deal, made a carbon-neutral economy that works for people a declared objective. At the same time, there is a confirmed commitment to a “Union of equality”, most notably enshrined in the first EC’s Gender Equality Strategy. However, the connection between these two objectives is not made explicit: the European Green Deal (EGD), the most important policy framework of the current political term, is gender blind. The EGD Communication does not refer to gender equality or broader equality issues (beyond a narrowly defined just transition mainly targeted at carbon intensive sectors) and is not based on any gender analysis. The links between gender and environment have been extensively researched, showing for example the different consumptions patterns and carbon emissions of women and men, the gendered impact of pollution, the female face of energy poverty or the risk of a widening gender gap in the green job market.

Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), supported by the Austrian Environment Ministry, the German Environment Ministry and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung EU, have assessed the gender gaps and opportunitiesaround the European Green Deal. They analyse sectoralpolicies including agriculture, energy, climate, transport and chemicals as well as proposing alternative narratives on overarching issues such as the economic transition, green jobs, green and gender just budgeting and taxation and political representation. Our focus lies on European domestic policies while not forgetting the global impacts of European policies and practices on gender equality in third countries. They focus on gender equality with an intersectional approach, looking into specific situation where inequalities linked to race, ability, sexual identity, age or class come into play. The report brings together a wide range of authors from CSOs, academia and independent experts. It makes recommendations to the European Union and Member States to make the Green Deal gender-transformative.

 

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