FEMINIST ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR A JUST RECOVERY

This report, produced by Friends of the Earth International, the World March of Women, and the Latin American Network on Women Transforming the Economy (REMTE), presents a feminist and environmentalist critique of the capitalist system in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It argues that the pandemic is a symptom of systemic crises—including climate, biodiversity, and care crises—driven by capital accumulation and neoliberal globalization. The document advocates for a 'just recovery' based on the 'sustainability of life,' which requires decommodifying essential services, redistributing care work, ensuring food sovereignty, and transitioning away from fossil fuels through a framework of internationalist solidarity and grassroots power.

• The Covid-19 pandemic is viewed not as an isolated health crisis but as a result of a systemic failure caused by a "capitalist, racist and patriarchal system". The report links the health crisis to other systemic failures, including the "crises of climate, biodiversity, food, water, the economic crisis and the care crisis", all of which are attributed to a system designed for "capital accumulation".
• The pandemic disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, particularly women, workers, and Black populations. For women, the crisis led to an "increase in domestic and sexual violence" and an "overload in domestic work and care", while they remained concentrated in precarious employment and front-line health sector roles.
• Feminist economics proposes placing the "sustainability of life" at the center of economic organization. This involves a radical reorganization of production, consumption, and reproduction, specifically recognizing that reproductive and care work—primarily performed by women—is vital and must be redistributed and reorganized to break the "unfair and unjust manner" in which it is currently executed.
• A just recovery requires the abandonment of the "neoliberal doctrine", including austerity measures, privatization, and the commodification of nature. The report argues for a State based on the "rights of our peoples and of the Commons", where public expenditure is directed toward the popular classes and the redistribution of wealth rather than bailing out transnational corporations.
• The report advocates for the decommodification and nationalization of essential public services, including health, water, and energy. It argues that these services should be managed by the State, municipalities, or cooperatives on a non-profit basis to ensure they are not treated as "merchandise".
• To address the climate crisis, the document calls for a "fair and just transition" that moves away from a fossil fuel-dependent economy. It specifically rejects "false solutions" and "corporate greenwashing", such as "net-zero" targets and carbon markets, which the authors claim allow corporations to commodify community resources like forests and rivers.
• Food sovereignty is presented as a key solution to multiple crises. The report emphasizes the need for "small farmer agriculture" and the defense of local markets against the "agro-industrial model", noting that the expansion of industrial agriculture into forests has created "sacrifice zones" where pandemics can originate.
• The report proposes a new form of internationalism and multilateralism based on "collective rights" and solidarity rather than the interests of big business. This includes demanding that climate and pandemic financing for the Global South be provided as "grants or donations" rather than loans to avoid perpetuating debt crises.
• The document highlights the role of grassroots movements in the Global South, particularly women, in creating "transformative economies" through solidarity actions, such as the reopening of local independent soup kitchens and the establishment of community-based production and care systems.

APA

Nansen, K., & Faria, N. (2020). FEMINIST ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR A JUST RECOVERY. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FoEI-WMW-REMTE-feminist-economics-and-environmentalism-Eng-PAGES.pdf

Chicago

Nansen, Karin, and Nalu Faria. FEMINIST ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR A JUST RECOVERY. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FoEI-WMW-REMTE-feminist-economics-and-environmentalism-Eng-PAGES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nansen |first1=Karin |last2=Faria |first2=Nalu |title=FEMINIST ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR A JUST RECOVERY |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=October 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FoEI-WMW-REMTE-feminist-economics-and-environmentalism-Eng-PAGES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nansen2020feminist, author = {Nansen, Karin and Faria, Nalu}, title = {{FEMINIST ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTALISM FOR A JUST RECOVERY}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FoEI-WMW-REMTE-feminist-economics-and-environmentalism-Eng-PAGES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }