Jakarta (27/6) – Deputy for Gender Equality of the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA), Lenny N. Rosalin, said that women have an essential role in supporting the issue of energy transition, which is one of the pillars in Indonesia’s G20 Presidency.
“Apart from being energy users, women are also green heroes. We can encourage women to play an active role in creating alternative energy sources that are safer, more affordable, and have a positive multiplier effect,” Lenny said in a hybrid C20 Public Consultation.
Lenny said the gap from unpaid care work also resulted in women bearing the impact of traditional energy use. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) states that around 4 million people in the world die prematurely due to air pollution at the household level. It significantly impacts women, especially those who work in the household or domestic tasks.
In addition to reducing the prevalence of people who die from air pollution at the household level, Lenny considers the importance of regulating energy consumption that is more environmentally friendly, especially in the household environment.
“Using clean energy at the household level will positively impact family health. Previously, children learned by using oil lamps, while now they use electricity. This means that we also provide opportunities for them to learn with better conditions, and we contribute to future generations,” said Lenny.
In addition, Lenny said using electricity access can increase women’s productivity. The reason is the time previously allocated to look for firewood can be used for other, more productive activities.
On the same occasion, Civil 20 Co-Chair Aryanto Nugroho explained that the issue of energy transition is still accompanied by the Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) approach so as not to hurt women, children, and other vulnerable groups.
“We consider the transition from fossil to renewable energy, for example, solar panels. The transition to solar panels certainly requires technology or lithium batteries from nickel mining materials. Automatically, nickel mines, smelters, battery factories, electric car factories, and others will be opening. The most vulnerable parties of all these transition processes are women, children, and other vulnerable groups, so the energy transition requires a GEDSI approach in its journey,” concluded Aryanto.
Source: Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection of the Republic of Indonesia