More than 140 million people, mostly women and children, will be forced to relocate because of global warming, according to the World Bank. The scientific community has long been sounding the alarm, while international organizations are preparing reports and resolutions that try to stop this phenomenon.
The reasons for this greater exposure of women to climate impacts must be sought in their vulnerability and in the feminization of poverty itself, as evidenced by the round table. Women and Global Warming: A Gender Perspective on the Climate Emergency organized by elDiario.es in collaboration with Acciona. Marga López Rivas, marine researcher at the University of Cádiz (Spain), professor at the Marta Abreu de las Villas University in Cuba and director of the NGO Nature and Oceans of the Americas in Costa Rica, participated; Mar Gómez, meteorologist and science communicator; and Alicia Pérez-Porro, marine biologist by training, scientific coordinator of CREAF, expert in international relations science to politicsThe event was hosted by Marta García, WWCOTY Global President.
“Global warming is causing significant migratory movements,” warns Marga López Rivas. “In the most disadvantaged regions of the planet, women have to provide for their own livelihoods on a daily basis on land that is not very fertile and has limited water resources. Traditionally, they are responsible for collecting water and bringing it to the city, but this task is becoming increasingly difficult due to severe droughts.”
The situation is no better for girls. Transformed into maternal support in the face of male emigration, they drop out of school very early or do not start at all. The child marriages into which they are subsequently forced are another scourge that nevertheless allows some families to obtain additional resources to overcome the famine and poverty resulting from environmental disasters.
“Women’s vulnerability will increase as resources decrease. The situation can get worse depending on the decisions we make today,” warns Mar Gómez, meteorologist and science communicator.
“Even if we eliminate fossil fuels overnight, the temperature will continue to rise. The oceans store more heat than the land and this will continue to do so for centuries or millennia,” he explains.
Access to property, training and financing for women is key to developing an uncertain future that there is still time to reverse. “Women often do not own the land on which they live. This prevents them from accessing national and international aid,” explains Alicia Pérez-Porro, marine biologist and scientific coordinator of CREAF. “It is important to work in collaboration with local organizations because they are the ones who know the terrain and can promote and reactivate the local market.”
Intense heat
The role of women in the most disadvantaged countries is weakening at the same rate as global warming accelerates. Desertification, patriarchal societies and lack of resources are part of the problem, but there are other aspects that directly affect the female population.
Mar Gómez cites a 2016 study by the Community of Madrid that warns of a 28% increase in femicide rates each time the thermometer exceeds 34º. “The heat is not responsible,” he says, “but it is the heat that contributes to releasing aggression in people prone to violence.
Stopping climate change is therefore a social emergency that cannot be achieved without resources and political will. The next United Nations Climate Summit in 2024 (COP29), to be held in November in Azerbaijan, will address the financing of the urgent measures to be undertaken. “The initial fund of 100 billion dollars will have to be increased to respond to the most urgent actions in countries without resources,” explains Alicia Pérez-Porro.
One of the priorities of researcher Marga López Rivas is to invest in access to water and education, “because that is what will allow the development of these regions and stop emigration. Without this external help, change is impossible. The North must assume its responsibility not only in this sense, but also in the face of the plundering committed by large multinationals in African countries. We all know the materials we get from there and what the open-pit mines look like. We must ask ourselves why the benefits do not go to the local population.”
Call to action
Meteorologist Mar Gómez is committed to giving visibility to the problem as a first step to reversing the situation. “By doing so, we are sending a message to today’s girls: they will be the ones making the decisions of tomorrow. It is important that we are more represented in decision-making bodies and that we promote education so that women are trained in agricultural development, so that they can lead projects and bet on science.” “We cannot waste a minute,” adds Marga López Rivas. And Alicia Pérez-Porro concludes by calling for responsible voting. “People must go out to vote knowing who they are supporting because time is running out.”
