GWSN Member Highlight: Gail Karlsson

It has been almost a year since the Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which means there is a lot to share about what various members of the GWSN community have been up to since the conference! Today, we hear from Gail Karlsson, ENERGIA’s Senior Policy Advisor. Later in 2012, Gail attended the UN climate change treaty conference, and she has also been doing related research and writing papers.

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Gail attended the November/December Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar– and saw several other GWSN members there. She mainly participated in events organized by the Global Gender and Climate Alliance, and  the UNFCCC Gender & Women Constituency.  Her focus was on gender mainstreaming in the Green Climate Fund, as well as the Climate Technology Centre and Network. Gail stated that she was pleased that the COP voted to approve a decision promoting gender balance in UNFCCC boards and activities, which can be found in their official report.

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Gail has also kept busy co-authoring the following papers:

The United Nations Development Programme released a publication in September 2012 entitled, Powerful Synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental. This publication includes a chapter, “Links between Gender Equality, Access to Sustainable Energy, and Climate Change Mitigation Measures” (pg 103), co-authored by Gail and Rose Kutin. Summary: “Building on the results from Rio+20, this paper examines linkages between strategies for expanding access to sustainable energy in developing countries, adopting effective climate adaptation and mitigation approaches and funding mechanisms, and promoting the advancement of women as an essential element of sustainable development. It also presents examples of projects and approaches that combine gender awareness, energy access and low-carbon development strategies.” (Karlsson & Kutin 2012, 104)

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Gail co-authored another paper for ENERGIA with Ana Rojas from the International Secretariat on “The Benefits of Gender Balance in Climate Change Mitigation Investments and Sustainable Energy Initiatives”. This paper was presented at a March 26-28 workshop at the University of Twente in the Netherlands on ‘Improving energy access through climate finance.

Summary: “As a member of the Sustainable Energy for All Practitioners Network, as well as the Global Gender and Climate Alliance, ENERGIA is providing guidance on how to achieve gender balance and equality in the context of sustainable energy and climate change mitigation. This paper outlines practical information about gender-aware policies, procedures, and tools that can make energy and climate change mitigation activities and investments more successful and effective – and provide greater benefits for both men and women. It also presents some brief descriptions of successful gender mainstreaming activities in the energy sector.” (Karlsson & Rojas 2012)

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