IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 98 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 2, 2009 Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Eshoo, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Butterfield, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Clarke, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Ms. Speier, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Kucinich, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, and Mr. Payne) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Recognizing the disparate impact of climate change on women and the efforts of women globally to address climate change.

Whereas the month of March is recognized as Women’s History Month, and was celebrated in 2009 in accordance with the theme “Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet”, during which time our Nation highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society; Whereas women in the United States and around the world are the linchpin of families and communities and are often the first to feel the immediate and adverse affects of social, environmental, and economic stresses on their families and communities; Whereas the United Nations has recognized, as one of the central organizing principles for its work, that no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and political problems can be found without the full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women; Whereas the United Nations Development Programme 2007/2008 Human Development Report has emphasized that climate change is a substantial threat to development and poverty alleviation, requiring immediate action; Whereas climate change is already forcing vulnerable communities in developing countries to face unprecedented climate stress, including water scarcity and drought, severe weather events and floods, reduced agricultural productivity, and increased disease; Whereas climate change exacerbates issues of scarcity and lack of accessibility to primary natural resources, forest resources, and arable land, thereby contributing to increased conflict and instability, as well as the workload and stresses on women and girls, who are estimated to produce 60 to 80 percent of the food in most developing countries; Whereas women will disproportionately face harmful impacts from climate change, particularly in poor and developing nations where women regularly assume increased responsibility for growing the family’s food and collecting water, fuel, and other resources; Whereas infectious disease epidemics, such as malaria, are expected to worsen and spread due to variations in climate, putting women and children without access to prevention and medical services at risk; Whereas conflict has a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable populations including women, and is fueled in the world’s poorest regions by harsher climate, leading to migration, refugee crises, and conflicts over scarce natural resources including land and water; Whereas it is predicted that climate change will lead to increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions, precipitating the occurrence of natural disasters around the globe; Whereas recent studies indicate that women and children are 14 times more likely to die than men during natural disasters; Whereas the relocation and death of women, and especially mothers, as a result of climate-related disasters often has devastating impacts on social support networks, family ties, and the coping capacity of families and communities; Whereas women in the United States are also particularly affected by climate-related disasters, as evidenced in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region, which displaced over 83 percent of low-income, single mothers; Whereas the ability of women to adapt to climate change is constrained by a lack of economic freedoms, property and inheritance rights, as well as access to financial resources, education, and new tools, equipment, and technology; Whereas, despite a unique capacity and knowledge to promote and provide for adaptation to climate change, women often have insufficient resources to undertake such adaptation; Whereas women are often underrepresented in the development and formulation of policy regarding adaptation to climate change, even though they are often in the best position to provide and consult on adaptive strategies; and Whereas the celebration of Women’s History Month, coinciding annually with International Women’s Day on March 8th, serves as a yearly reminder of ongoing efforts to promote and protect the equal rights of women as well as their equal participation in the political and economic process: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress— (1)recognizes the disparate impacts of climate change on women and the efforts of women globally to address climate change; (2)encourages the use of gender-sensitive frameworks in developing policies to address climate change, which account for the specific impacts of climate change on women; (3)affirms its commitment to support women who are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts to prepare for, build their resilience, and adapt to those impacts; (4)affirms its commitment to empower women to have a voice in the planning and implementation of strategies to address climate change so that their roles and resources are taken into account; and (5)encourages the President to— (A)consider the impacts of climate change on women while developing policies and programs in the United States that are globally related to climate change; and (B)ensure that those policies and programs support women globally to prepare for, build resilience for, and adapt to climate change.