Satellite event: The impact of climate change on the "condition of women"

In the last hundred years, the "condition of women" has improved exceptionally. Starting in Europe, the material progress of 'modern society' has completely revolutionised the way of life for many women in many countries around the world, after thousands of years of no significant change.

"Progress' (clean water, medicines, hygiene, diversified food, pasteurisation of milk, etc.) has greatly reduced infant mortality, enabling families and society as a whole to produce the same number of offspring at a much lower birth rate. This development has also significantly and structurally liberated women, who have been able to devote at least part of their younger years to activities other than childbirth and the care of young children.

"Capitalism" turned women into wage earners. Of course, with fewer opportunities and less pay than men, but wage earners nonetheless. This has given women a material autonomy and freedom that was previously unattainable, when they lived their entire lives raising children and working in the home, with 'money brought home' by men.

"Industrialisation" has made the natural disadvantage to men in terms of average physical strength significantly less relevant. Industrial activities are only guided by men, men or women, with actual production largely 'outsourced'. It is taken over by a colossal army of technological machines, powered by gigantic flows of materials and energies extracted from nature.

Starting from these retrospective considerations, our debate will look to the future. Most of the forward-looking scenarios developed by experts on our climate future imperatively call for "efficiency" as well as "sobriety" policies. Without the latter, massive and rapid reductions in material and energy consumption flows are physically impossible. 

Historically, the condition of women has evolved on the basis of increasing flows of materials and energy consumed. So how will it be able to evolve, or at least maintain itself, in the context of their drastic decrease?

We will discuss various possible scenarios with 3 ambassadors of the European Climate Pact in Romania and 3 experts:

• Ioana Petrescu (President of Pure and Simple Green Association, European Climate Pact Ambassador),
• Laura Petrescu (lawyer, European Climate Pact Ambassador)
• Anca Bălălășoiu (equal rights expert, European Climate Pact Ambassador)
• Roxana Bojariu (Climatologist, Coordinator of the Climatology Section and President of the Scientific Council, National Meteorological Administration)
• Bogdan Gioară (political scientist, President of REPER21) The debate is moderated by Ana-Maria Pălăduș (economist, REPER21 vice-president)