The law as shelter: The interface between women and climate change adaptation responses in Africa

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Citation: (2018) 5(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 117
• Author: Addaney, M.
• Published date: 16 August 2019
• Date: 16 August 2019
• Pages: 117-148

117

THE LAW AS SHELTER: THE INTERFACE

BETWEEN WOMEN AND CLIMATE CHANGE

ADAPTATION RESPONSES IN AFRICA

Michael Addaney*

Abstract

Climate change is widely recognised as a key factor in sustainable development

policymaking at international, regional and national levels. Indeed, there is increased

recognition of climate change as a hurdle to realising the inclusive development

objectives of developing regions and emerging economies. However, there is a dearth

of policies and research on integration of gender perspectives into climate change

programming. It is against this bac kdrop that this article examines the African

Union Agenda 2063 and other relevant regional mechanisms to ascertain how they

respond to the needs of women in coping with the adverse effects of climate change.

Based largely on literature review, this paper examines the interface between women’s

needs in climate change adaptation and the extent to which Agenda 2063 and

associated AU laws and policies on gender and the environment meet these needs.

It is argued that the inclusion of women’s needs in climate change interventions

is crucial for the effective implementation of Agenda 2063 and associated policies.

Firstly, women play a critical role in sustainable development in the Global South

because of their prominence in agricultural and related activities. On account of this,

their inclusion in sustainable development planning remains crucial, with a view

to ensuring that climate change interventions are reflective of women’s agency in

the environmental and socio-political affairs of emerging economies. It is conc luded

that the AU, African governments and civil society should accord due regard to the

voice of women in all decisions having a bearing on climate change adaptation. The

increased involvement of women will enhance environmental and productivity gains

to create mutual benefits and higher returns across the SDGs, and the Strategic

Aspirations of the Agenda 2063 in Afr ica.

Keywords: Africa renaissance, African Union; Agenda 2063, climate change,

climate change law, gender, resilience, women.

Résumé

Le changement climatique est largement reconnu comme un facteur clé dans

l’élaboration des politiques du développement durable à l’échelle internationale,

régionale et nationale. Effectivement, il y a une reconnaissance accrue que le

changement climatique est un obstacle à la réalisation des objectifs de développement

inclusif des régions en voie de développement et des économies émergentes. Toutefois,

il y a une pénurie de politiques et de recherche sur l’intégration des perspectives

* Doctoral candidate at the Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University,

Wuhan, China; Senior Research Assistant, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani,

Ghana. Email: appl.adm@gmail.com.

(2018) 5(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 117

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118 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW IN AFRICA VOL 5, NO 2, 2018

de genre dans des programmes sur le changement climatique. Dans ce contexte,

cet article examine l’Agenda 2063 de l’Union africaine et d’autres mécanismes

régionaux pertinents pour déterminer comment répondre aux besoins des femmes

pour faire face aux effets néfastes du changement climatique. Basé en grande

partie sur l’analyse de la documentation, ce papier examine l’interface entre les

besoins des femmes dans le contexte de l’adaptation au changement climatique

et la mesure à laquelle l’Agenda 2063 et les lois et politiques associées de l’UA

relatives au genre et à l’environnement répondent à ces besoins. On fait valoir que

l’inclusion des besoins des femmes dans les interventions de changement climatique

est indispensable pour la mise en œuvre efficace de l’Agenda 2063 er des politiques

associées. D’abord, les femmes jouent un rôle critique dans le développement

durable dans le Sud global en raison de leur importance au sein des activités

agricoles et connexes. À cause de cela, leur inclusion dans la planification du

développement durable reste cruciale, dans le but de veiller à ce que les interventions

sur le changement climatique reflètent la capacité d’agir des femmes aux affaires

environnementales et socio-économiques des économies émergentes. Il est conclu que

l’UA, les gouvernements africains et la société civile devraient dûment tenir compte

des voix des femmes dans toutes les décisions ayant une incidence sur l’adaptation

au changement climatique. La participation accrue des femmes va renforcer les gains

pour créer les bénéfices mutuels et les rendements plus élevés en ce qui concerne

les ODD (Objectifs de développement durable), les Aspirations stratégiques de

l’Agenda 2063 en Afrique.

Mots clés: Renaissance africaine, Union africaine, Agenda 2063, changement

climatique, droit sur le changement climatique, genre, résilience, femmes

Introduction

Climate change1 has been recognised as one of the most complex political,

legal, social and environmental issues of this century.2 Since the 1990s,

climate change regulation has risen to prominence, culminating into the

adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol. Despite these regulatory

interventions, it is increasingly becoming clear that the exclusive spotlight

on reduction of greenhouse gas emission or mitigation measures in climate

change regime would be inadequate to address the challenges posed by

1 The IPCC defines climate change as any change in climate over time whether due to natural

variability or as a result of human activity. This definition is different from that contained in the UN

Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UNFCCC defines climate change as a change

of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition

of the global atmosphere, and which is in addition to natural variability observed over comparable

time periods.

2 Randall S Abate, ‘Introduction’ in Randall S Abate (ed) Climate Justice: Case Studies in Global

and Regional Governance Challenges, (2016); Jegede O Ademola, The climate change regulatory framework

and indigenous peoples’ lands in Africa: Human rights implications (2016) 1; Sumudu Anopama Atapattu,

Human Rights Approaches to Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities (2015) 2.

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THE LAW AS SHELTER: THE INTERFACE BETWEEN WOMEN AND CLIMATE

CHANGE ADAPTATION RESPONSES IN AFRICA 119

climate change.3 While climate change mitigation efforts must continue

to proceed with intensity, fierce climate-change impacts have occurred

and still continue to occur with increasing force. Accordingly, there is an

increasingly large focus on adaptation measures at international, regional

and national levels to address the adverse effects of climate change.4 Despite

the adoption of various climate change adaptation measures at the global

level and across different sectors and levels of society, the focus of the

international community a propos climate change adaptation has been on

the needs of developing countries and emerging economies.5 In the face

of threats caused by climate change, a consensus is emerg ing to the effect

that additional safeguards are required to guarantee the health and safety

of the most vulnerable groups and communities of the world including

the low-lying island nations, the urban and rural poor, women, children

and indigenous peoples.6 As can be garnered, the reasonable expectation is

that women should be given priority in all decisions pertaining to climate

change and sustainable development.

This is because there has been a corresponding increased recognition

of climate change as a hurdle to realising the sustainable and inclusive

development objectives of developing regions and emerging economies.

Without contestation, the adverse effects of climate change such as

variations in temperature and rainfall patterns are already visible and

posing continued challenges into the future of especially resource-

dependent regions.7 This has imposed an array of interventions.

Conversely, an inquiry into the integration of gender perspectives into

climate change discourses is only beginning to emerge.8 This scholarly

gap suggests that there is hardly a point of reference in so far as the

interface between the role of women and climate change adaptation is

concerned. The link between gender and climate change has not always

been obvious: there is increasing evidence to demonstrate that women

and men experience climate change differently; that climate change

increases women’s vulnerability; and gender inequalities worsen women’s

3 Robin Kundis Craig & Stephen R Miller, Contemporary Issues in Climate Change Law and

Policy: Essays Inspired by the IPCC (2017).

4 Randall S Abate op cit note 2.

5 Robin Kundis Craig & Stephen R Miller op cit note 3.

6 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC] (2014) ‘Summary for Policymakers’

in Field, CB, Bar ros, VR, Dokken, DJ, Mach, KJ, Mastrandrea, MD, Bilir, TE, Chatterjee, M, Ebi,

KL, Estrada, YO, Genova, RC, Girma, B, Kissel, ES, Levy, AN, MacCracken, S, Mastrandrea, PR &

White, LL Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, andVulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects.

Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (2014) 1–32.

7 Ibid.

8 Patr icia Kameri-Mbote ‘Climate Change and Gender Justice: International Policy and

Legal Responses’ in Oliver C Ruppel, Christian Roschmann and Katharina Ruppel-Schlichting

(eds) Climate Change: International Law and Global Governance, Volume I: Legal Responses and Global

Responsibility, (2013) 327.

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