Gender-transformative, interdisciplinary approaches to climate action are an opportunity for China’s research institutions and NGOs to innovate and make progress on national climate and socio-economic goals.
This paper shows that there is a nascent interdisciplinary community of practice – with international ties – working on climate change, rural revitalization and women’s development in China. Developing this community of practice is key for establishing more inclusive approaches to climate action in China. Such a network can build a strong evidence base on the differential impacts of climate change and the low-carbon transition in diverse Chinese contexts. This can take many forms, including the collection of sex-, age- and diversity-disaggregated data, interdisciplinary qualitative research on the impacts of climate change and climate action measures on communities, and sharing lessons learned from programmes and community projects.
To conduct such work effectively, many researchers and practitioners would require increased capacity-building – including training and exposure to case studies – on approaches to integrating gender and inclusion considerations in work on climate change. Funding to develop inclusive, gender-transformative climate change research and programmes is also important. Demonstrating the effectiveness of inclusive approaches to climate action – through research and programme monitoring and evaluation – can attract attention from domestic and international funders and galvanize support.
For a wider impact, sharing the results of this research and practice outside an expert community – with both policymakers and the public – is crucial. Sharing evidence from diverse Chinese contexts and multi-stakeholder dialogues can support capacity-building on this topic for central and subnational level officials. This can in turn contribute to cross-cutting policymaking and implementation, and potentially increased funding for more holistic approaches to climate action. Public engagement and outreach through conventional and social media can build public understanding of the differential impacts of climate change and the benefits of inclusive climate solutions. It could help to boost participatory community solutions to climate change, rural revitalization and women’s development. Ultimately, these approaches can accelerate action on China’s 2030 carbon peaking and 2060 carbon neutrality goals, while contributing to gender equality in the pursuit of a just transition, common prosperity and ‘ecological civilization’.
Risks
While the four key levers established in this paper are mutually reinforcing, there are some risks that could affect the adoption of more inclusive approaches to climate action in China. Gender and inclusion in climate action may be perceived as a Western concept that is not applicable to China. This is because much of the research and developments on integrating gender in climate change programming and policy have taken place internationally, and gender mainstreaming in climate policies is an emerging international norm in the UN climate change regime. However, research and experimentation with gender-transformative climate and development programmes in diverse Chinese contexts can demonstrate the co-benefits of these approaches relevant to China. Additionally, these cross-cutting approaches to climate action are important to overarching Chinese policy goals such as the achievement of ‘ecological civilization’.
As gender and inclusion indicators are not yet integrated into guidance and performance evaluations for officials overseeing environmental issues, these considerations may be perceived as additional burdens or overly politically sensitive, and receive pushback, especially at provincial and municipal levels. Inclusive approaches to climate change may also be dismissed or deprioritized due to the urgency of climate change mitigation efforts, given China’s national targets. However, just transition approaches can, in fact, ensure public acceptance of climate change mitigation policies and contribute to social stability – on which officials are evaluated – particularly in the most affected communities in China’s coal-producing northern and western provinces. In addition, developing an evidence base of inclusive climate action programmes can demonstrate the resulting co-benefits and their contributions to meeting multiple national socio-economic and climate goals.
Given China’s size and diversity, no ‘one size fits all’ solution to gender-transformative climate action exists. In the process of experimenting with different climate change adaptation measures, it is possible that some maladaptation examples emerge, which could result in cross-cutting gender-transformative solutions being dismissed. Yet, China has a history of successful local-level policy experimentation that can inform national-level policymaking. For example, China piloted its emissions trading scheme in 2011, including eight provinces and cities over subsequent years, which informed the design of a national scheme launched in 2021. Embracing this tradition of innovation can support the development of inclusive approaches to climate action tailored to diverse contexts in China.
Recommendations
Based on participatory research with academics and practitioners working in China, this paper proposes four levers to foster more inclusive and gender-transformative climate action in China: improving data collection, integrating research agendas, interdisciplinary and international collaboration, and increased funding for cross-cutting initiatives. Based on these four levers, researchers, practitioners and funders across the fields of climate action, poverty alleviation and women’s development in China (based internationally, in Hong Kong SAR or mainland China) could consider the following actions:
Data collection
Researchers and practitioners:
- Increase collection of sex-, age- and diversity-disaggregated environmental data, and conduct research – especially interdisciplinary qualitative research – on the differential impacts of climate change and the low-carbon transition. This evidence base can help to design targeted interventions for equitable socio-economic and climate outcomes in diverse Chinese contexts while preparing for future climate impacts. It can also demonstrate the value of gender-transformative adaptation measures to policymakers and the public.
An interdisciplinary community of practice on gender and inclusion in climate action
Researchers and practitioners:
- Combining climate change, women’s development and rural revitalization research agendas – through building an interdisciplinary community of practice via policy and academic networks – can help to identify cross-cutting solutions to environmental and social issues. For example, gender-transformative interventions that improve women’s access to and control over land, education and credit, and address unequal gender norms, can support women’s climate change resilience and bring social and environmental co-benefits. Such a network can also support entrepreneurs on gender and inclusion to advance the uptake of inclusive approaches in their environment and development organizations.
- Developing a community of practice may require experts and practitioners to undertake additional capacity-building on integrating gender and inclusion in environmental research and programmes, and vice versa. Rural revitalization and poverty reduction experts can share expertise on integrating environmental and gender equality considerations into holistic solutions.
Funders:
- A gap in resources exists for capacity-building workshops on gender and inclusion in climate action, and for developing a combined research programme on gender-transformative climate action in China – for example, on strengthening the climate resilience of education and healthcare systems in ways that improve access for disadvantaged social groups. Supporting the development of a community of practice on gender and inclusion in climate action in China can accelerate the development of innovative research and practice, with benefits for public participation in climate action and inclusive policy implementation.
Interdisciplinary and international collaboration
on gender-transformative programmes
Researchers and practitioners:
- Interdisciplinary and international collaboration on gender-transformative climate change programmes can foster innovation and harness synergies between gender equality and climate action. Key areas for such collaborations include programmes to ensure that all people – including low-income, rural and rural-to-urban migrant women – have opportunities to access ‘green jobs’ in a just transition.
- Share case studies of gender-transformative programmes in diverse Chinese contexts with funders and policymakers, as they can help to demonstrate the co-benefits of inclusive approaches to climate action and identify successful interdisciplinary approaches that could be scaled up through cross-sector policy measures. It may be helpful to consider their potential contributions to national policy goals such as common prosperity, building an ‘ecological civilization’ and meeting China’s 2030 and 2060 climate goals. Disseminating these case studies more widely can also help to build public awareness.
Funding for cross-cutting approaches
Researchers and practitioners:
- Consider cross-cutting approaches to climate action as an opportunity to innovate and attract international funding – for example, through engaging with funding organizations to understand their priorities on gender and inclusion and exploring interdisciplinary collaboration in funding bids. Capacity-building on gender mainstreaming in project planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation may be required if funders implement more comprehensive gender and inclusion requirements.
Funders:
- Building internal capacity on gender mainstreaming and the synergies between gender and social equality, socio-economic development and climate action can help funding organizations to understand the co-benefits of gender-transformative and cross-cutting approaches to environment-related funding. An increased evidence base of cross-cutting inclusive climate and development programmes can help changemakers in funding organizations to ‘make the case’ internally for these approaches.
- Supporting inclusive approaches to climate action offers an opportunity for impact and innovation in China. Funders can bring together coalitions of partners from a range of disciplines to opportunities for cross-cutting programmes – providing strategic direction, while grantees implement work according to their expertise.
- Of the estimated $15 trillion in investments needed for China to keep its emissions compatible with a 2°C global temperature rise (even more for 1.5°C), increasing the proportion of climate change funding earmarked as gender-transformative, or for which gender is a priority, would make a marked difference. Requiring gender and social considerations in project planning, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation and reporting can support their adoption among climate change and rural revitalization researchers and practitioners.
- However, as systemic change takes a relatively long time, funders and grantees need to be aligned on the timeline and expectations. Openness to a range of qualitative and quantitative indicators on gender and inclusion in climate action can support the implementation of more innovative approaches.
Through exchange and collaboration, researchers and practitioners in climate action, rural revitalization and women’s development in China could build a strong evidence base on gender and inclusion in climate action. This could unlock the development of gender-transformative programmes, as well as cross-sectoral policy dialogue and public awareness on gender-transformative climate change solutions. Given the urgency and wide-ranging impacts of the climate crisis, rural–urban inequities, and gender inequality, combined solutions have never been more important.