Fossil fuel projects worsen the climate crisis; perpetuate gender inequalities and increase the burden on women who are primarily responsible for securing food, water, and fuel. You! takes a look…
Climate change is a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming.
At the COP28 United Nations climate talks in December 2023, governments from nearly 200 countries agreed to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels in this crucial decade. The burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of the climate crisis.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that emissions from fossil fuels are the dominant cause of global warming. Already the average global temperature has increased by 1°C. Warming above 1.5°C risks further sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss and species extinction, as well as food scarcity, worsening health and poverty for millions of people worldwide. Scientists say that limiting the global temperature rise to1.5°C should help the world avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change. Globally, the researchers calculated, production of fossil fuels should be on a steady decline of 3 per cent every year until 2050.
Fossil gas is a high carbon emitting fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, causing devastating floods, droughts, and health problems in communities in developing countries.
As climate change progressively worsens, so does gender inequality. Patriarchal values and structures that relegate women to unpaid care and domestic work while barring them from access to and control of resources such as land, water, food, and services, make women more vulnerable, and also makes it harder for them to adapt to climate change.
“Across the world, women depend more on, yet have less access to, natural resources. In many regions, women bear a disproportionate responsibility for securing food, water, and fuel. Agriculture is the most important employment sector for women in low- and lower-middle income countries, during periods of drought and erratic rainfall, women, as agricultural workers and primary procurers, work harder to secure income and resources for their families. This puts added pressure on girls, who often have to leave school to help their mothers manage the increased burden,” says a report by UN Women.
Fossil gas endangers women’s health: Women, particularly in rural areas of Asia, have less access to modern energy, leading toreliance on traditional biomass for cooking, which causes respiratory diseases from smoke inhalation.It has been found thatfossil gas pollution is linked to infertility, pregnancy complications, and higher risks of preterm births.
Gender inequality:In patriarchal societies such as Pakistan, boys’ education is prioritised when energy is scarce, leading to wider gender inequality in educational attainment. During energy shortages, girls are often taken out of school to help with domestic chores and energy collection.
According to a report by International Energy Agency (IEA), despite making up 39 per cent of the global labour force, women only account for 16 per cent of the traditional energy sector. For management levels the numbers are even lower. The barriers women face in the energy sector are similar to those they face elsewhere in the economy. Not only that, it has been observed that women are also under-represented in government policy-making on climate and energy. Lack of meaningful participation in decision-making makes it difficult for women to influence policy and decisions on energy, which in turn increases the burden of their work, as well as their vulnerability to climate change.
Fossil fuel projects perpetuate gender inequalities. These projects worsen the climate crisis, increasing the burden on women who are primarily responsible for securing food, water, and fuel.
In rural areas in northern Sindh, women are suffering because of the gases that are emitting from the local fossil projects. The gases are not only polluting the environment but are also causing diseases like diarrhoea and other skin diseases. The leaching of toxins and pollutants from the power plant-contaminated canal has caused adverse effects on livestock, agricultural productivity, and local livelihoods.
“It is heart wrenching to see people living in miserable conditions in villages of northern Sindh, especially women, and facing challenges due to environmental pollution,” says Izzah Batool, a climate activist who works as a Research Associate at Indus Consortium, an NGO based in Islamabad. “The water they drink is contaminated; it has led many people including children being infected with stomach diseases. The situation here is dire and a lot of diseases are spreading. People suffer from breathing problems, Hepatitis and skin problems. They have to survive in extreme heat without electricity due to the gas flares. People have no access to clean water or any other facility. I have seen women have hurt their hands while burning fire wood. Even this is collected by small children,” observes Izzah, who has done extensive research on the impacts of the fossil gas on their lives.
“To feed the children, we have to go far to fetch water and gather firewood in the intense heat. With no electricity and gas load shedding, women are left with no option other than to collect firewood from far flung areas for cooking purposes which is increasing the burden of their responsibilities and causing more labour-intensive care work for the family,” expresses Ms YasmenTahira, a social worker from MalookWali village, northern Sindh.
“Our last means of livelihood, the livestock, are also falling sick due to contaminated water. There are hardly any employment opportunities or skill developing programmes for women, which has led to a decrease in our employability and financial independence. Consequently, our roles in decision making and community development are often undermined,” she adds. “Also, due to the scarcity of clinics in the nearby rural areas, villagers have to travel many kilometres to access hospitals in Ghotki city,” points out Ms Tahira.
According to Izzah, proactive measures should be taken by the company in order to safeguard the health and social rights of women. “The Sindh government should offer incentives and grants to communities to meet their energy requirements through the establishment of utility-scale renewable energy projects,” she stresses. “There should be an increased representation and participation of women in meaningful community decision-making processes to address their specific needs and concerns, including on health and energy access,” she adds.
The Village Development Organisation (VDO) and GROW Green Network are working with the local community to advocate for environmental and climate justice and just energy transition. “We face more than 12 to 15 hours of black-outs in the summer season every year. The electricity generated from the power plant is mostly sent to the national grid to be used by urban centres and factories in northern Pakistan,” elucidates Mr Ali Hassan Mahar, a local social activist and the founder of VDO.
“Relevant authorities like the Ministry of Energy of Sindh, Planning and Development Department of Sindh and Sindh Environmental Protection Authority (SEPA) need to reconsider the energy needs of Ghotki and its adjacent areas to address these issues and enhance the overall quality of life of villagers. IFC (International Finance Corporation) should address harms caused by fossil projects they have supported over the years. Furthermore, the IFC and the Sindh government should offer incentives and grants to communities to meet their energy requirements through the establishment of utility-scale renewable energy projects and increased representation and participation of women in community decision-making processes to address their specific needs and concerns,” suggests Mr Mahar.
It is an established fact that fossil gas projects worsen the climate crisis which disproportionately impacts women, fails to provide women access to sustainable energy, and further exacerbates their economic and social marginalisation. In contrast, decentralised renewable energy (DRE) projects are more promising in terms of empowering women.
Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. Generating renewable energy creates far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels. Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is key to addressing the climate crisis. Some of the common sources of renewable energy include solar energy and wind energy.
Globally, 32 per cent of the workers in the renewable energy industry are women, compared to the 22 per cent employment of women in the traditional oil and gas sector. In rural India, solar water pumps and solar silk spinning machines have been able to lighten women’s domestic work and enhance their livelihoods in agriculture. Similar projects can be initiated in Pakistan too that will facilitate women.
“As we continue to use gas stoves in domestic settings, it’s often women who are most affected by the associated risks, including gas leaks that tragically result in explosions and loss of life. Women are disproportionately impacted because they spend more time cooking and managing household tasks. To address this, the government should provide subsidies for solar stoves and ensure that a range of solar-powered cooking options is readily available in the market. This would not only make safer alternatives more accessible to women but also help households reduce the burden of rising gas bills,” points out Fiza Qureshi, Gender Expert and Gas Campaigner, Big Shift Global (an international campaign – calling on all of the world's biggest public development banks to shift finance out of dirty fossil fuels and into sustainable, renewable energy to provide energy access for all).
It is vital for MDB (a multilateral development bank) to finance these types of energy projects that directly enhance women’s rights instead of promoting climate-wrecking and women-disempowering fossil gas projects. And ensure that these investments are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 5 and SDG 7, as well as uphold and protect the rights of women and the communities that they live in.
There is a significant need for climate finance in Pakistan. At its simplest, climate or green finance is any structured financial activity - a product or service - that’s been created to ensure a better environmental outcome. Examples of climate finance include grants provided by multilateral funds, market-based and concessional loans from financial institutions.
Since 2020, countries have been submitting their national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Pakistan aims to reduce its emissions by 20 per cent by 2030, according to its Nationally Determined Contribution. Pakistan needs to shed its reliance on short term fixes and invest in long term clean and renewable energy projects not only to meet its energy demands but also fight climate change. Hundreds of projects have been initiated by the federal government and provincial departments. ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’, ‘Clean Green Pakistan Index’, ‘Ecosystem Restoration, WASH’, ‘Climate Resilient Urban Development’ and ‘Green Building Code’ are some of the major projects in addressing climate change in the country. More financing will thus be required to accelerate green initiatives in Pakistan.
As in the words of Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, a climate change and sustainable development expert, “The climate finance ecosystem will be incomplete unless it covers mitigation actions, adaption efforts, and loss and damage planning. The national discourse will have greater credibility if it is based on the firm foundation of reprioritising community resilience and low carbon development, rather than seeking climate finances without a well-functioning climate finance ecosystem.”
Erum Noor Muzaffar is the editor of You! magazine. She can be reached at iram29@hotmail.com
