23. February 2022Webinar: Gender Dimensions of a Just Transition – Insights from Colombia, USA and Germany

Date & Time: 7th March 2022, 15:00 pm Central European Time, 9:00 am Eastern Time Zone
Duration: 1.5 hours
Organizers: Wuppertal Institut for climate, environment and energy, CoalExit, TRAJECTS
Moderation: Jenny Kurwan (Wuppertal Institut)
Language: English and Spanish (simultaneous translation)
Speakers: Marius Koepchen (Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany), Paula Walk (Europa Universität Flensburg-Germany), Óscar Vargas (Red de Iniciativas Comunitarias, Colombia) and Lorena López (Red de Iniciativas Comunitarias & STEUnmagdalena, Colombia), Franziska Stölzel (F wie Kraft Lausitz, Germany), Gabe Schwartzman (University of Minnesota, USA)

The phase-out of coal-fired power generation urgently needs to be accelerated to ensure that there is still a chance of meeting the 1.5 degree target agreed under the Paris agreement. Under the term of a just transition the understanding that the phase-out of coal should take place in a way that is as fair as possible for all social groups is becoming increasingly important. Yet, the group most often thought of are male workers in the coal industry. The exit from coal, however, has much more farreaching consequences in the affected regions. In order to achieve a just transition for all people, it is important to consider not only male coal workers but also how women and other genders might be affected – positively as well as negatively – by the phase-out and the structural change process. The webinar discusses the following questions: How are women differently affected by coal mining and the coal phase-out than men? To what extent is the coal industry linked to traditional masculinity? What policy recommendations are there for a gender-equitable transition?

After a short introduction about the importance of gendered structures in structural change processes by Paula Walk and Marius Koepchen, the webinar looks at three case studies from Colombia, Germany and the USA. Óscar Vargas and Lorena López who currently wrote a book together with local indigenous women in Colombian coal regions, look at gendered impacts of coal extraction and show how a gender-just transition could be designed in Colombia. Franziska Stölzel is involved with the organisation “F wie Kraft”, which works for a gender-equitable structural change in the German coal region Lusatia. The question of how structural change policies can be designed in a gender-responsive way is currently particularly relevant in Germany because the country has earmarked 40 billion euros by 2038 for structural change policies in the coal regions. Gabe Schwartzman is researcher and expert on the Appalachian coal region in the USA. In particular, he focuses on how the decline of the coal industry, which is linked to traditional notions of masculinity, is affecting the region and its gender perceptions. The seminar is aimed in particular at practitioners and aims to present policy recommendations for a gender-equitable transition.

You can participate in the webinar at the following link: https://tu-berlin.zoom.us/j/63457817963?pwd=c2ozL3dweWtrOTJFMnQvb2ZoVHlFZz09

Passcode: 499807

Webinar ID: 634 5781 7963

This webinar is organised under the umbrella of the project ‘Just Transition Toolbox for coal regions’, which aims to raise awareness and strengthen the knowledge of national and regional actors regarding the challenges and opportunities of a just transition worldwide. Core of the project is the development of a Just Transition Toolbox, an online handbook for practitioners aiming to steer and support the shift away from coal on a regional level. It is centred around five main themes: strategy, governance, energy, industry and employment, and features a broad range of examples of current practices in coal regions as well as links to further resources and external knowledge. The toolbox can be downloaded here.

The activities within the project ‘Just Transition Toolbox for coal regions’ have been realised with the financial support of the European Union’s Partnership Instrument and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in the context of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The content expressed in the toolbox and the online events are the sole responsibility of the speakers and authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.

The recording of the webinar can be found under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pcEgOpT_qo