A review of gender and climate change in European cities

Climate change, as one of the greatest challenges of the modern era affecting vital economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fishery, tourism, energy, water supply, transport, building/construction (Lückenkötter, et al, 2013), is not gender-neutral. Capacities to face the challenge of climate change and the socio-economic impacts of climate change policies and measures differ by gender (Alber, 2012) and unequal policies emphasise inequalities and discrimination from other sources. The main question seems to be data availability on gender relevance and absence of disaggregated or integrated data (Arora Jonsson, 2013). Research on climate change and gender referred to the EU is scarce, especially on urban settings (EIGE, 2012). Further research must address issues of European urban areas to better understand impacts and responses. Urban adaptation has to be connected with the concept of resilience, its gender sensitivity and its relevance for target populations in terms of society's ability to adapt to change. There is a need for urban indicators, socio-ecological scenarios and adaptation progress in urban areas. This paper refers the findings of a Short term scientific mission performed within Gender STE action on climate change, focused on a literature review on gender and climate change in European cities. Main indicators project, experiences and tools are not gendered: a bigger effort is needed to overcome barriers to participation in decision-making at all levels, to assess gendered impacts trough proper indicators and monitoring gender consideration in policies and program, including a more multidisciplinary approach to improve resilience at the local level.