In the face of extreme weather events, desertification and a rise in the sea levels, governments and communities increasingly recognize that the need to adapt and mitigate to climate change is urgent. The global agenda and negotiations focus on what governments, corporations and institutions can do in the search for large-scale technological solutions. Yet women, men and local communities all have roles, responsibilities and interests that hold the potential either to harm or benefit the environment. This book considers the gendered dimensions of climate change. It shows how gender analysis has been widely overlooked in debates about climate change and its interactions with poverty and demonstrates its importance for those seeking to understand the impacts of global environmental change on human communities. Ranging in scope from high-level global decision-making to local communities, the contributors examine the potential impacts of environmental degradation and change on vulnerable groups. They highlight the different vulnerabilities, risks and coping strategies of poor women and men in the face of environmental degradation and increased livelihood insecurity. They show how good gender analysis at all levels of policy-making and implementation is essential in ensuring equitable outcomes for women and men and key to creating climate change policies that work for poor people as well as for the rich.

Editorial 2
Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: why does gender matter? 10
Climate change: learning from gender analysis and women's experiences of organising for sustainable development 21
Protocols, treaties, and action: the 'climate change process' viewed through gender spectacles 30
Kyoto Protocol negotiations: reflections on the role of women 40
Gender and climate hazards in Bangladesh 45
Uncertain predictions, invisible impacts, and the need to mainstream gender in climate change adaptations 51
Gendering responses to El Nino in rural Peru 60
The Noel Kempff project in Bolivia: gender, power, and decision-making in climate mitigation 70
Reducing risk and vulnerability to climate change in India: the capabilities approach 78
Promoting the role of women in sustainable energy development in Africa: networking and capacity-building 84
Transforming power relationships: building capacity for ecological security 92
Resources 102
Publications 102
Electronic resources 107
Journals 110
Organisations 110
Videos 112

Caroline Sweetman is Editor of the international journal Gender & Development and works for Oxfam GB.