Fostering Gender-Just Energy Transitions in Mineral and Fossil Fuel Producing Countries
Publisher: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Author(s): Ana Carolina González Espinosa, Rosalind Cavaghan, Emma Dahmani, and Matteo Molineris
Date: 2024
Topics: Gender
As the world turns toward a sustainable energy future, humanity stands at a crossroads: will the energy transition bridge existing divides—such as income inequality, gender disparities, and economic imbalances between nations—or will it deepen the disparities that already separate us? Addressing gender equality is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Ensuring that women, men, and people with diverse identities can shape and benefit from this shift is essential to achieving a truly just and inclusive transition.
In 2020, the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and partner organizations proposed a Feminist Natural Resource Governance Agenda for a Just Transition. In 2021, in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI), we produced an initial primer about the importance of gender-transformative policy reforms. The current primer builds on the first, diving deeper into why gender matters to natural resource governance in the context of the energy transition. It highlights the often-overlooked ways in which gender dynamics could influence—and be influenced by—how the transition is managed. From gender mainstreaming to equity and equality, we explore the concepts that can turn the energy transition from a risk to gender equality into an opportunity for all.