I feel the status of women and minorities is often excluded in the mainstream climate change narrative. The state of plants and animals as well as the levels of carbon emissions are generally at the forefront of the conversation, and although Earth’s ecosystems and greenhouse gas concentrations are incredibly important to consider when engaging in the climate crisis conversation, the conversation is incomplete without feminism. I concretely believe that without an intersectional feminist approach (including but not limited to indigenous feminism, radical feminism, and ecofeminism) to the climate crisis, the environmentalist movement alone will fail. There are undoubtedly parallels between feminism and potential solutions to the climate crisis, and these parallels allow us to question whether the solutions we propose are actually plausible. For example, the United States has largely adopted liberal feminism, a feminist movement that focuses on the issues that primarily impact white women and amplifies the voice of the white woman. Liberal feminism does not work to dismantle the systems that create inequalities for women but rather works to exist within the system. It essentially works to create equality for women while remaining in the patriarchy, which will continue to create inequalities for minority women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and poor individuals. In contrast, radical feminism actively works to dismantle the patriarchal systems and uproot the cause of the inequalities and injustices experienced by all women. Although it may seem unrelated, I see clear parallels between climate change solutions and this comparison between liberal and radical feminism.
A popular perspective is that climate change is a market-based issue fueled by capitalism (emphasis on the desire to maintain power over the planet and the resources it provides). Because of this, proposed solutions to reducing carbon emissions in the United States are heavily concentrated on market-based solutions. Examples of market-based solutions, as we learned in class, include carbon taxes (on companies and/or gas consumption), cap and trade, or subsidies. However, I wonder if implementing solutions while remaining complacent in the system that created the problem in the first place will be successful. Parallel to liberal feminism, market-based solutions remain in a capitalist society (the same societal structure that created the climate crisis) and, in my perspective, will continue to create inequalities within the capitalist system. For example, if carbon taxes on gas are implemented, how will this impact individuals who cannot afford to pay for the gas and rely on transportation for their jobs or education, especially in areas where public transportation is not readily available or efficient? Current research shows that a carbon tax will exacerbate inequalities, as low-income individuals and families will be forced to spend more of their income on carbon-intensive items, (Fremstad, 2019). I recognize that completely dismantling our current economic and political system and rebuilding it in a way that actively rejects inequalities while simultaneously fighting against carbon emissions is extraordinarily unlikely. However, I am hesitant to fully embrace market-based solutions as the only form of solutions that will solve the climate crisis because these solutions continue to exist in the system that created the problem.
If we are to continue with our patriarchal, capitalistic system in the midst of the environmentalist movement, then we must incorporate indigenous feminism and ecofeminism into the conversation and amplify the voices of indigenous and minority women. The patriarchy and capitalism are intimately intertwined as they both prioritize and fixate on power, control, and ownership. It makes sense, then, that gender inequality and climate change are also deeply connected to one another, since the climate crisis, as mentioned previously, is the result of capitalism. As we’ve discussed in class, climate change will ultimately impact everyone. However, it is clear that climate change will impact everyone differently, with poor individuals, marginalized communities, minorities, women, and girls being impacted most heavily. According to several studies, the majority of people who live in poverty globally are women. Women bear more responsibility to care for families and the communities in which they reside. Yet, they are often underrepresented or are completely absent in decision-making settings, especially indigenous women, minority women, and marginalized women, (Data point, 2022). Without the voice and perspective of all women, climate solutions are bound to fail, as women and the status of women are at the heart of virtually every climate solution. The ideas behind indigenous feminism and ecofeminism are the foundation of that claim, as indigenous feminism advocates for decolonization, indigenous sovereignty, and human rights for indigenous women and indigenous families and ecofeminism emphasizes that the state of the Earth and the state of women are inextricably intertwined.
The need for these feminist approaches to environmentalism was obvious to me when our class spoke to the Ngäbe about their experiences and efforts to have their school legally recognized by the Costa Rican government. They spoke of not receiving any funding from the government because their school curriculum incorporated their culture and language. Without funding, recognition, or official acknowledgment from the government, their efforts to preserve their language and culture are threatened. I want to emphasize that ecofeminism and indigenous feminism are not and should not be thought of as separate entities, but rather intersect with one another. An example of this intersection is the Chipki Andolan movement in the 1970s in India. Indigenous women were at the forefront of this movement and were also, unsurprisingly, the ones who were impacted most by expeditious deforestation. All this is to say that I fundamentally believe that there is no one solution to the climate crisis, but whatever solutions we eventually implement, women, from all backgrounds and demographics, must be actively involved.
Works Cited
Data point: Climate change is a feminist issue. (2022). Economist Impact. https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/social-sustainability/data-point-climate-change-is-a-feminist-issue
Fremstad, Anders & Paul, Mark. (2019). The Impact of a Carbon Tax on Inequality. Ecological Economics. 163. 88-97. 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.04.016.
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