What is Climate Justice?

Climate change, pollution, and extractive industries are all crises that
demand immediate, inclusive action to preserve the future of this planet.
The climate crisis deepens structural inequalities, amplifies conflicts
around the world, and forces people into increasingly vulnerable
situations.

Despite mounting urgency, current strategies and investments are

insufficient for the challenges ahead. Efforts to mitigate climate change
receive less than 2% of global philanthropic giving. The climate crisis
disproportionately affects women, girls, and marginalized communities.
However, funding for the intersection of gender and the environment
makeup only a tiny fraction of philanthropic dollars distributed—less than
0.2%. This funding has largely been top-down with a heavy focus on scale,
missing locally-led solutions, and failing to center the voices of those most
affected.

Global Fund for Women believes in a different approach—one rooted in

climate justice.

Climate justice acknowledges the need for equitable, intersectional

stewardship of the world’s resources and demands that we center the
impact on—and solutions from—the people and communities who are
most vulnerable and least responsible, such as rural and Indigenous
communities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and communities living in poverty. We
are working to help support climate solutions driven by self-led groups
working to address climate change and social justice in their communities.
Global Fund for Women’s vision for climate justice is that women, girls,
trans, and gender nonconforming people have the power and resources
they need to lead resistance to capitalist and unjust systems that harm
the environment and advance solutions that reimagine how we can take
what we need from the earth in a way that restores and sustains balance.
Climate justice requires gender justice

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BLOGPUBLICATION DATE8 MARCH 2023

There cannot be climate justice without gender justice, IHE Delft MSc student Fawzia
Tarannum, an experienced water professional with a PhD in Community Participation in
Water Quality Management, argues in this International Women’s Day blog.
“If governments and civil societies are serious about climate justice, they must
improve gender justice. The lack of gender justice means that women are more
vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe
natural disasters.

As long as women face structural barriers to land, technology, financial services,

education and skills, they are at higher risk during disasters. Women and girls are
14 times more likely to die in a disaster than men, according to statistics. In
tsunamis, hurricanes, flash floods and earthquakes, with some exceptions, more
women than men die.
Women, elderly and children often spend more time inside their homes, making
them more vulnerable to some disasters. Traditional gender roles related to
nurturing and deference make women more exposed to disasters as compared to
men. In post-disaster situations, women and girls are also at a higher risk of
violence, abuse, psychological stress and malnutrition.

Challenging living conditions of migrant workers in Dhapa Dhipi slum in

KolkataCopyright: Fawzia Tarannum

My country, India, is among the top 10 countries most at risk due to climate
change. The country’s 7500km of coastline is already experiencing intense and
frequent cyclones. Sea-level rise and coastal erosion severely impact lives and
livelihoods of the people at the bottom of the social and economic pyramid. For
example, those most affected by a 2020 cyclone included pregnant and
breastfeeding women, female-headed households as well as people with
 disabilities, adolescent girls and boys, sex workers and transgender people,
according to a gender analysis.

In the north of India, the Himalayan region is grappling with glacier melting, flash
floods, and landslides, among others. For rural women, it is a double whammy. As
water sources dry up, they travel longer distances to fetch water. With many men
abandoning farming to migrate to cities in search of jobs, the women are left
behind doing farming work in addition to their chores. But as they don’t own the
land they farm, they have little access to resources and government services.
“If governments and civil societies are serious about climate justice,
they must improve gender justice."

Fawzia Tarannum

These are just a few examples that illustrate how a lack of gender justice lead to
women being more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men. For
women to have the same chances to survive climate change as men, gender justice
is needed. Governments and civil society, therefore, must lay the groundwork for
gender justice by taking the following steps:

 Invest in gender disaggregated data: Most policies that claim to be gender

neutral are gender blind: they fail to address the unique concerns and the
differentiated impact of climate change on men and women. Gender-
disaggregated data must be collected and analyssed prior to policy formulation
and development of adaptation and mitigation plans.
 Gender-responsive climate finance : Most climate funds focus on investments in
reducing carbon emissions. But women, traditionally being custodians of
resources, have the potential to catalyze transformational change required for
climate change adaptation. Not involving them in climate finance decisions leads
to suboptimal and inequitable outcomes.
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 Increase participation of women in STEM programmes: Science, technology,

engineering and math (STEM) programmes should invest to create an
environment that welcomes women, who now account only for 28% of the STEM
workforce.
 Promote gender balance in expert committees on climate change adaptation
and mitigation: Two-thirds of climate change decision-making roles are held by
men. This must change. Women contribute significantly toward climate action,
and they should have equal representation in climate voices.
 Diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring: Diversity, equity and inclusion are key to
achieving gender justice and realising the motto of the SDGs: leave no one
behind. By proactively including these factors in hiring, managers contribute to
the goal.

These actions will contribute to gender justice, a concept that should be viewed
beyond the binaries and must consider every person’s need irrespective of the
identity, age, caste, class, colour, race or ethnicity. Gender justice is an essential
component of climate justice – the latter cannot be achieved without the former.
No gender justice without climate justice

In regions with acute water crisis, it is the women who have to walk miles to
collect a pitcher of water, and this extra load gnaws away at whatever time or
energy they have left after their already gruelling work hours. PHOTO: REUTERS

Whenever we discuss violence against women or gender-based violence, our point

of view still seems to be patriarchal and limited. We fail to accommodate the
existing structural discrimination and global risks, such as climate change, in the
discussions. How are we supposed to study this "violence"? Should it be limited to
domestic abuse, child marriage, dowry, sexual harassment, rape, and the absence of
social rights?

Women have been practising regenerative natural agriculture for millennia. In the
60s, we were forced to adopt the green revolution, and now, the threat of chemical
toxins and plastic pollution is everywhere. Female health faces tremendous risks,
so do their cultural rights. Then, should we not study this system of development
as "violence" against women?

In fact, if important matters—such as the fact that the climate crisis is sustaining
the persecution and oppression of women or even provoking gender discrimination
—are not discussed, there is no way that violence against women will stop.

From November 25 to December 10, the world observed 16 Days of Activism

against Gender-Based Violence. Meanwhile, the 28th UN Climate Change
Conference, or COP28, started on November 30 and will end tomorrow. I want to
take this opportunity to speak about such risks, especially the oppression of
women.

Climate and gender activists worldwide are bringing up these topics in various
ways. Climate justice is not possible without gender justice, and at the same time,
if you want to establish gender justice, climate justice is a must-have. Let's try to
understand this using the variety of experiences accumulated from various parts of
the world at COP28.

Read more
Without proper follow-up, what is the point of COP28?
"Climate change" is a natural process, but the "climate change" that is spoken
about copiously is not at all natural. The latter is the result of carbon emissions
coming from the rich and their luxurious lifestyle. Earth today is a burning, boiling
planet. This drastic change that has been inflicted on the world is not outside the
structures of colonialism, discrimination, justice and power. One of these structures
is patriarchal development, which has encroached upon nature. The intolerable
consequences of this are being faced by all living things, societies, and ecosystems
in our world—and women are one of the worst sufferers.

Yet, rural women are one of the most notable architects of agriculture and natural
conservation around the world. For the women who rely on agriculture and natural
resources, their livelihoods, conventional knowledge, social harmony, and cultural
heritage are all under threat because of climate change. This is why climate change
is an instance of patriarchal oppression. It is impossible to combat climate change
through the lens of patriarchy; society, the state and agencies must be freed of this
discriminatory lens.

Climate crisis and conservation must be viewed through the lens of globally
vibrant social and natural diversity, and the lens of gender is vital. It is important to
discuss how climate change makes violence against women more extreme and
brutal.

The narrations of Khona, an astrologer and scientist from ancient Bengal, have
been an important tool in practising the understanding of weather and agriculture.
In fact, traditional proverbs, folklore, folk music, rural narratives, and all forms of
folk wisdom have acted as a library in the art of studying the weather. But
unfortunately, we have misplaced this library of folk wisdom. One of the biggest
reasons behind this is our discriminatory mindset and patriarchal sense of bravado.
The spread and growth of the knowledge of seedlings, of safe sources of water, of
forest resources or the enormous amount of genetic resources around the world,
these have all happened due to the contributions of women. But today, rural
women have next to no access to agricultural knowledge and resources.

Read more
COP28 is an opportunity, if we all play our part
Climate change is pushing women further towards the precipice of social violence
and natural risks. In Bangladesh, cyclones, floods, river erosion, the drying of
mountain streams, stone quarrying, mudslides, extreme heat waves, droughts,
salinity, cold waves, excessive and irregular rain and hail storms have changed the
production and livelihood patterns of rural women. Moreover, among climate
refugees who make their ways into the slums of cities, women and children are
most at risk. In the city, a rural farmer, fisherwoman or a handicraft artist has no
social identity. And all of this increases the amount of physical, mental and social
violence towards women.

What do the experiences of Bangladeshi women in the coastal regions, in haors,

chars or mountains tell us? Each region is going through an extreme water crisis,
and and the situation is worsening day by day. A woman has to walk miles for a
pitcher of water, and this excessive workload is gnawing away at their work hours.
In Dubai, during the climate summit, the painful picture of rural women standing
in long queues to get water was shown in the Bangladesh pavilion. It is equally
important to answer the question of why it must be women who collect the water.

Among climate refugees who make their ways into the slums of cities,
women and children are most at risk. In the city, a rural farmer,
fisherwoman or a handicraft artist has no social identity. And all of
this increases the amount of physical, mental and social violence
towards women.
In coastal regions of Bangladesh, salinity has meant that the reproductive health of
young girls and women is at risk. Women from a poor background have to fish in
saline water, and their household chores are done using this water as well. This has
led to a rise of diseases of the reproductive system. Many women are suffering
from ovarian tumours or cancer; many have to go through hysterectomies.

Shefali Bibi, a woman from Datinakhali village in Satkhira's Shyamnagar, has

gone through a similar ordeal. I met Shefali, who was ill, before coming to the
Dubai climate summit. She told me that many women in her village are suffering
from various illnesses because of salinity. In patriarchal cultures, diseases of the
female reproductive system are kept secret as "womanly problems." Hence, the
heartless suffering of these women has been unknown to the world.

This year, after the cyclones Mocha, Hamoon, Tej, and Midhili, the coastal regions
are now reeling from Michuang. After surviving all these climate-induced
disasters, how are the women supposed to look after their health? In Shefali Bibi's
house, the girls said that they suffer more during their periods now. Society does
not pay heed towards the safe reproductive health of women, so women have
suffered for generations because of the practice of reusing old pieces of cloth.

Meanwhile, cyclones, waterlogging, and saline water are pushing men away from
the agricultural livelihoods of villages for brick kilns in the cities. This leaves the
women to look after the households, which is also leading to social violence.
Before coming to the climate summit, I had the chance to speak to day labourers
Binodini Munda from the coastal region and Chichilia Hembrom from the northern
Barind region. Even though they live in different parts of the country, they both
face extreme water crisis because of climate change. They have to contend with the
new anxiety of possibly having to leave their birthplaces. Many such stories of
struggle and discrimination of climate-struck women in Bangladesh were heard at
the Dubai climate summit.

At the summit, I interviewed Dr Joyce M Mutinda, chairperson of National Gender

and Equality Commission in Kenya. She told me that climate-induced crises are
increasing the risks of violence against women. Due to droughts, rural women need
to go far to collect water, dig up sand, or collect firewood. So, they cannot prepare
food timely, which creates family-based violence, she said, mentioning that
without climate justice, we cannot achieve gender justice, as these are
interconnected.

If global temperatures cannot be kept under 1.5 degrees Celsius, small countries
like Trinidan and Tobago, Fiji, the Maldives, and Antigua and Barbuda may sink
due to rising sea levels. On the bus to the hotel from the summit, I spoke to Ruth
Viola Spencer, deputy chair of Marine Ecosystems Protected Area Trust. She said
80 percent of the people in Antigua and Barbuda are dependent on the tourism
industry. In Antigua, many families are headed by women, but gender-based
violence still exists there. Climate change has led to a water crisis there. Hotels
have water supply, but villages don't, and failure to collect water is leading to
various forms of domestic violence for women.

Read more
Justice and finance at COP28
I also spoke with Diane Sibanda, a farmer from a village called Mokubani in the
African country of Botswana. A member of the Balete ethnic group, this woman
farms tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbages, onions, pumpkins, and a local variety of
cricket called Tswana. Extreme heatwaves and low rainfall has reduced her
production rates and the soil has also turned infertile. Because of these reasons, she
sustained a loss of almost 250,000 pula last year. In her society, the bride's family
has to pay money during a wedding. But the financial losses due to climate change
are creating problems for the survival of women.

On December 4, an official side event was held at the climate summit, titled "Why
is militarisation one of the key obstacles to mitigating the climate crisis?" There,
the speakers talked about how war and militarisation created new critical risks and
conflicts. Conflicts increase violence against women. They suggested that
demilitarisation and the end of war can be a climate solution from the perspectives
of climate-vulnerable women in the Philippines, Vietnam, Syria or Gaza Strip.

Cop28 has started with the commitment for a Loss and Damage Fund. Until the
third day of the summit, only $655 million had been committed to it. Mamta
Baragayari, a representative of international organisation Sea Changes Climate,
said, "This fund that has been committed so far is in no way enough. We must
discuss how this fund will be brought to the real people who are at risk, and to
women. The climate crisis is definitely a crisis of leadership. In the global climate
negotiations, women don't have active participation."

Sineia Wapichana, leader of Brazil's Indigenous Council of Roraima, said, "We

have heard many commitments about the climate fund at various climate summits.
But the indigenous people of the Amazon have not received these funds. The
climate induced contests between indigenous peoples in the Amazon have led to an
increased life risk for women there. Indigenous women need to be part of these
climate discussions."

I met some youth representatives from Bangladesh at the climate summit too.
There, I spoke to Shakila Islam, co-founder of Bangladesh Youthnet, about climate
change and violence against women. She thinks that, even though the summit is
showcasing women, they still haven't ensured active participation. From her
experience of working with rural girls in Khulna and Barishal, she said, "The water
crisis in coastal regions is so bad that people don't want to get married to other
people in those areas."

We hope that in climate or gender discussions, the risk and violence faced by
women due to climate change will be given its due importance. Masking of any
type of risk or violence cannot ensure gender or climate justice.
Why women are key to climate action

Women and girls face disproportionate impacts from climate change. They are
also driving climate solutions at all levels – as farmers, workers, consumers,
household managers, activists, leaders, and entrepreneurs.

The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls face
disproportionate impacts from climate change — largely because they make up the
majority of the world’s poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their
livelihood.

Particularly in rural areas, women and girls are often responsible for securing food,
water, and firewood for their families. During times of drought and erratic rainfall, rural
women work harder, walk farther and spend more time securing income and resources
for their families. This can also expose them to increased risks of gender-based violence,
as climate change exacerbates existing conflicts, inequalities, and vulnerabilities.
When extreme weather disasters strike, women and children are 14 times more likely to
die than men, mostly due to limited access to information, limited mobility, decision-
making, and resources. An estimated 4 out of 5 people displaced by the impacts of
climate change are women and girls. Acute disasters can also disrupt essential services,
including sexual and reproductive health care, compounding the negative impacts for
women and girls.

Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women are uniquely
situated to be agents of change — to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global
warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground.
Here are three reasons why empowering women and girls is key to climate action:

1. Women are environmental stewards

Women are responsible for half of the world’s food production. In developing countries,
they produce even up to 80 per cent of food. As farmers, women have learned how to
cope with and adapt to climate change, for example, by practicing sustainable agriculture
in harmony with nature, switching to drought-resistant seeds, employing low-impact or
organic soil management techniques, or leading community-based reforestation and
restoration efforts.

Indigenous women have been at the forefront of environmental conservation. They bring
invaluable ancestral knowledge and practices that build resilience in a changing climate,
for example, by preserving crop biodiversity and seed varieties, protecting pollinators and
local bee populations, using natural soil building and fertilization methods, or leaving
forests intact.

But women have less access to a range of resources, from land rights and credit to
education and technology. If women had the same access to productive resources as
men, farm yields could increase by 20–30 per cent, feeding an additional 100 to 150
million people. This would reduce the pressure to cut down trees for more agricultural
land – one of the biggest drivers of climate change. Worldwide, more than half of forest
loss is due to conversion of forest into cropland.

2. Women are the backbone of resilience

Women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care
work than men. When climate disasters hit – such as floods, wildfires, droughts and
storms – women take on additional burdens.

As they usually have the primary responsibility for caring for a home and the people in it,
women are often the first responders in disasters, rescuing children, elderly, persons
with disabilities, and other community members, and informing local authorities and
emergency teams.

After a disaster, women will likely be responsible for caring for the sick and injured,
providing support for their families and helping communities recover and rebuild. And yet,
even though women are disproportionately impacted by disasters and are leaders
in post-disaster recovery, they are largely excluded from shaping policies, strategies, and
programmes to address disaster risk and resilience.

Having women actively involved in decision-making is critical to recovery and

reconstruction efforts. Fully utilizing women’s capacities, knowledge, and skills when
preparing for and recovering from disasters can help identify disaster risks and build
security for families and communities.
3. Women are agents of change
Women and girls – including students, moms, indigenous women, and celebrities – have
been leading global and national climate movements that have put a spotlight on the
urgency of the climate crisis and the need for action for the sake of this and future
generations.

Women also play a key role in driving change as consumers, workers, political and
business leaders.

In wealthier societies, women drive 70-80 per cent of all consumer purchasing decisions,
leading the transition to more sustainable lifestyles. Women are more likely to recycle,
minimize waste, buy organic food and eco-labeled products, and save water and energy
in the household. By leading behavior change and consumer attitudes, women can drive
change across sectors.

At the political level, research shows clear linkages between women’s leadership and
action to tackle climate change. For example, studies have found that countries with
higher proportions of women in parliament are more likely to ratify international
environmental treaties and have stricter climate policies.
 In business, gender-diverse firms tend to have better environmental reporting and
climate governance than their peers, and make more investments in renewable power
generation and energy efficiency improvement.

Women are also increasingly contributing to the renewable energy sector, currently
accounting for 40 per cent of employees in solar energy – a much higher share than in
the oil and gas sector (22 per cent).

It is time to invest in women as a strong force for change, leading the way to a more
sustainable future.

recommendations for policymakers and practitioners:

1. Recognise and promote women’s active leadership and participation in climate

decision-making and governance at all levels, including in the justice sector
2. Empower women and girls to realize their environmental rights, especially climate-
vulnerable women such as indigenous women and women affected by climate
migration
3. Support climate action by women- and youth-led organizations, and increase
financial support for frontline women environmental human rights defenders
4. Reform laws, policies and justice institutions to make them more responsive to the
climate needs of women and girls, in line with international human rights standards
and national development plans
5. Strengthen women’s rights to land and natural resources, including through better
tenure security, elimination of discriminatory laws, and greater gender-
responsiveness of customary and informal justice institutions
6. Foster an approach to climate finance that promotes more equitable funding for
women-led climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives
7. Mobilize global multi-stakeholder coalitions to accelerate feminist action for climate
justice.

Climate Justice for Women through Finance: The Time is Now

November 27, 2024

As the world grapples with the accelerating effects of climate change,

we are confronted by a harsh reality: financial inclusion and climate
resilience are inextricably linked for women, especially those in the
world’s most vulnerable regions. Yet, as COP29 unfolded earlier in
November, progress on gender was disappointing. Despite global
pledges to prioritize the most vulnerable, women’s financial inclusion
—an essential pillar of resilience—remained sidelined due to discourse
instead focusing on backtracking existing language. Now, with a meager $300
billion on the table from COP29, $1 trillion short of what developing
nations were asking for, we still don’t know how much gender
applies. Last we knew, only 55 national climate action plans explicitly mentioned
gender equality.
This failure is glaring. The data is irrefutable: climate change
disproportionately impacts women, and without the financial tools to
cope, they face a future fraught with poverty and insecurity. There are
753 million women living in climate-vulnerable countries who are
excluded from formal financial systems, leaving them ill-prepared to
protect their livelihoods or recover from climate shocks. It’s a crisis
that demands urgent action.

We know the numbers. We crunched them ourselves in our latest

publication, “Finance, Climate, and Gender.” Women’s financial
exclusion is not just a financial problem; it is a climate problem.
Three out of four women without adequate financial services live in
these climate-vulnerable regions. Nearly 880 million women lack
access to quick relief payments after climate emergencies. Only 116
million people globally have climate-related microinsurance, and
there’s a staggering 20% gender gap. Furthermore, 1.41 billion
women in these regions don’t have formal savings, leaving them with
no financial safety net when disaster strikes.

The climate emergency will only deepen this divide. By 2050, climate
change could push 158 million more women and girls into poverty. Yet, amid these dire
projections, global funding for climate initiatives that also focus on women stands at a
shocking 0.01%. This gap in funding isn’t just a statistic—it’s a call to
action. Without targeted investment in women’s financial inclusion,
the green transition will be incomplete, and the most vulnerable will
continue to bear the brunt of both economic and environmental
crises.
But there is hope. When it comes to women in leadership roles, the research sings. A
critical mass of women on a board leads not only to better climate
outcomes but also to more innovation. At the political level, research
shows clear linkages between women’s leadership and action to tackle
climate change. For example, studies have found that countries with
higher proportions of women in parliament are more likely to ratify
international environmental treaties and have stricter climate policies.
In business, gender-diverse firms tend to have better environmental
reporting and climate governance than their peers and make more
investments in renewable power generation and energy efficiency
improvement.

When it comes to women customers, the story is no different. They

are not passive victims of climate change. In fact, they are at the
forefront of resilience, responding to climate crises, leading early
recovery efforts, and driving sustainable practices in agriculture and
natural resource management. Women are already creating adaptive,
resilient communities. With the right financial tools, they can become
the architects of climate solutions, not just survivors of climate
disasters.

This is where the intersection of women’s financial inclusion and

climate action becomes clear. Financial services such as savings,
insurance, and access to credit are not luxuries—they are lifelines. In
the past six years, Women’s World Banking has introduced 75
financial solutions across emerging markets, addressing the specific
needs of women. We have seen firsthand how access to finance can
turn vulnerability into resilience, enabling women to weather the
storm and meet their needs. And financial solutions tackling both climate and
gender already exist to learn from. Hear how one of our partner’s fintech solutions is insuring
women farmers futures.

But we need more. More funding. More partnerships. More

commitment to ensuring that financial systems work for women, not
against them.
Esther, a 45-year-old fisherwoman from Ambon Bay, Indonesia, struggles financially due to rising
temperatures and unpredictable weather that disrupt her fishing and sales. Without proper storage,
she must sell fish quickly, often at a loss. Access to tailored financial services like microloans, climate
insurance, and digital payments could help Esther and her community manage finances and build
resilience.

The conversation at COP29 highlighted the urgent need for gender-

responsive climate finance. The draft decision included some mention
of gender, but it fell short. Discussions did not adequately reflect the
need to have gender-responsive actions. Women’s leadership in
climate action must be fully recognized, supported, and funded. This
means prioritizing investments in women-led grassroots
 organizations, ensuring that climate finance is accessible and
impactful for those who need it most.

The time to act is now. We are armed with knowledge, we have

solutions that work, and we are ready to scale them. But we cannot do
it alone. Policymakers, financial institutions, investors, and civil society
organizations must come together to close the gender financing gap.
As leaders, we must use our platforms to advocate for change,
especially in rooms where the conversation may seem the most
daunting. We need more women in government, more female CEOs,
and more role models driving the conversation on climate and
finance. In a year that started with a COP Presidency failing to
include even a single woman in its initial 28 member organizing
committee before facing severe criticism and course-correcting, we
have witnessed a nearly synchronized global failure on gender equity.
If you are a leader—male or female—this is your moment. Your
voice, your investment, and your leadership can make a difference.

In the coming decades, the challenges we face will only grow. But so
too can the opportunities. Financially empowering women is not just
about creating equity—it’s about securing our collective future. It’s
time to put the pieces together and create a resilient, green, and just
economy that works for everyone.

As we close this chapter of our campaign on climate change and

women’s financial inclusion, we invite you to join us. Together, we
can empower these 753 million women to overcome the barriers
holding them back and ensure that no woman is left behind in the
fight against climate change.

The future is clear: climate resilience and financial resilience are the same thing for
millions of women. It’s time to make the connection.

A just future needs gender and climate justice

 08/03/2025

By Chiara Martinelli – Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe

Across the globe, we are witnessing a worrying backsliding on women’s rights and
gender equality, with setbacks in various regions, including EU countries, and
worrying cuts to funding, including for sexual and reproductive rights of women and
girls. This is part of a worrying and escalating trend to attack and weaken
democracy, respect of human rights and public participation, while undermining the
efforts towards a just transition; a transition that should allow people to live in
dignity within planetary boundaries and that should support first the most vulnerable
communities who are already paying the highest price of the impacts of inequalities
and climate change..

This year’s International Women’s Day, under the theme ‘For ALL Women and Girls:
Rights. Equality. Empowerment.“ highlights the need for a feminist future based on
inclusion and agency – one where no woman is left behind. A feminist future that
enables democracy, just transition and wellbeing for all to flourish.

At the same time, this year marks two significant anniversaries: 10 years since the
adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including the SDG 17 a goal
on gender equality and 30 years since the UN Women Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action, a landmark document for advancing gender equality worldwide.
These anniversaries are important reminders of the progress we’ve made and the
work still left to be done. They are also a call to sustain the ambition needed to drive
this agenda forward, despite the challenging political context across the globe.
Among UN Women’s six themes for IWD is climate justice: prioritize women and girls
in climate action by boosting their leadership and access to green jobs. It’s essential
to recognise that achieving gender equality is a crucial element of accelerating
effective climate action.

A gender gap
As the climate crisis continues to worsen, the intersection of women’s rights and a
just transition to a sustainable, inclusive future becomes even more critical. Women
have been at the forefront of climate action for decades, leading movements,
resistance, research and initiatives including testing innovative tools and hosting
participatory spaces. From Rachel Louise Carson’s groundbreaking work on
pesticide pollution to recent climate activists, like Nemonte Nenquimo, defender of
the Amazon rainforest, many women – across decades and continents – have
demonstrated the importance of inclusive, sustainable approaches.

Yet, structural issues are holding back women’s roles in sectoral transitions. Women
remain underrepresented in top-level climate governance: In global climate
negotiations, they make up around 39% of constituted bodies. In the energy sectors-
within the energy and energy utilities composite, only 13.9% of senior management
are held by women. This inequality extends to climate finance: funding that should
be supporting the transition in the Global South remains disproportionately low.

A true just transition must center gender equality, while ensuring women’s voices
and leadership are prioritised over the perpetuation of an exclusive and patriarchal
system that underpins the very causes of climate change and the economic model
that has led us to this crisis, in the fight for climate justice.
What we mean when we talk about just transition
A just and fair transition means transforming our economy – the way we produce and
consume- from food to energy, from transport to buildings, to ensure we limit global
warming to 1.5°C, prevent deadly and extreme climate impacts, and restore
biodiversity. But for this transition to be fully just, its costs and benefits must be
shared equitably, especially between people and countries according to their
capacity to pay and adapt. Between those with greater responsibility and those most
affected.

Looking at the history of International Women’s Day, the evolution of women’s rights
is intertwined with their role in labour movements, strike action, and social activism.
Women have led and must continue to lead calls for labour rights and economic
justice through the just energy transition.

The transition to a 100% renewable energy future is an opportunity to place gender

equality into the heart of climate solutions. As industries like coal, oil, and gas
decline, reskilling and upskilling opportunities must be available to all. While many
fossil fuels industry workers are men -who must definitely be supported and
accompanied in this complex transition, it’s equally important to ensure that women
are included in the growing green economy. Women must have equal access to
creation of sustainable solutions and leadership roles in renewable energy,
sustainable agriculture and green technology. Gender balance must be ensured in
consultation and participation processes to shape the future of territories and
industries in transition.

Moreover, women are heavily employed in many lower-carbon sectors like care and
public services – sectors that, with improved pay and conditions, are the kind of
sectors we want to see grow in the transition.

Inclusive solutions for climate justice

To ensure climate action generates benefits for everyone, integrating an
intersectional feminist perspective into all climate policies is non negotiable. This is
key to achieving the systemic change we need;as without policies that deep dive into
the intersections of gender, social, racial and economic injustices, we risk
exacerbating existing inequalities.

A truly just transition demands a commitment to gender equality across all aspects of
climate action – from policy design to financial investments. Only through inclusive
decision-making and targeted support can we build an economy that works for
everyone. At the same time we must tackle the underlying social injustices that
exacerbate the impacts of the crisis. This means recognizing and addressing the
historical and ongoing inequalities that disproportionately affect women, particularly
in the Global South.

Luckily, solutions to the climate crisis exist: expanding public transport, insulating
homes, lowering energy prices through renewables, benefit lower income groups
and women in particular. But they should not be mere recipients, they must be
empowered and actively engaged in their development and rollout.
Gender justice needs to be at the heart of climate action – one that ensures an
equitable, inclusive, and just transition for all.

Advocating for women-led

climate justice
FABEHA MONIR FOR IPAS

Home 9 Our Work 9 Advocating for women-led climate justice

Climate change is one of the defining

crises of our time, and people’s sexual
and reproductive health and rights are
affected by this crisis.
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted because they lack
power. As climate disasters worsen globally, people’s homes,
livelihoods, food and water sources and safety are threatened. And
there is a direct link between these environmental pressures and
gender-based violence and unwanted pregnancy. In turn, women
and girls have an increased need for sexual and reproductive health
care, but these services become harder to access during and after
disasters.
Ultimately, the climate crisis is a reproductive justice
crisis. Our research in settings around the world finds that climate
change undermines people’s right to have a child, to not have a
child, and to parent children in safe and healthy environments. Yet
we know that the people most impacted have solutions—and we
must listen. Then we must act. Ipas works to ensure sexual and
reproductive health are integral to climate solutions at every level of
society—and that the people most impacted are actively engaged in
building climate resilience within their own communities. Here’s
what we’re doing:
Centering women’s voices and solutions
Working with local partners to build climate resilience
Responding to climate disasters
Building the evidence
Advocating for reproductive health in all climate solutions
Global impact data in 2024
Centering women’s voices and solutions
Working with local partners to build climate resilience
Responding to climate disasters
Building the evidence
Advocating for reproductive health in all climate solutions
Global impact data in 2024
Centering women’s voices and solutions
Meet Nepal’s Natural Leaders: Women-led climate justice in action
Learn why we need women-led climate justice through real women’s stories.

Working with local partners to build

climate resilience
As the climate crisis accelerates, communities must prepare for and
respond to increasing disasters as well as the longer-term impacts
of a changing climate. Ipas works with local partners to create
holistic plans for adaptation and resilience in the face of climate
change—and we center women and girls to ensure solutions meet
their needs.
5 ways Ipas is helping build climate-resilient health systems in Nepal
Ipas Nepal has been working with government and community partners since 2020
to ensure that sexual and reproductive health services are included in climate-crisis
response and recovery efforts.
In northern Kenya, women-led climate justice is taking shape
Ipas partnered with local group PACIDA to tackle the impacts of climate change on
reproductive rights. The solutions—generated by the people most affected—are
helping build resilient communities.
How this Indonesian peer mentor is helping fight child marriage and school dropout
Aditya aka Dhito Raditya, a 20-year-old law student from Central Sulawesi,
Indonesia, is passionate about peer mentorship and volunteering. His dedication to
making a difference is fueled by the goal of ending child marriage and school
dropout in his region.

Responding to climate disasters

Extreme weather events driven by climate change—such as
cyclones, floods, droughts and heat waves—have already created
millions of climate migrants. Sexual and reproductive health care
needs are often “invisible” during and after a crisis, as response
efforts focus on food, water, shelter and emergency medicine. Yet
needs like contraception, abortion and pregnancy care are also
critical and time sensitive. At Ipas, we work to ensure these
services are available.
Facing climate change, Ipas Malawi ensures people get the reproductive health care they
need

In flood-hit Pakistan, Ipas is ensuring reproductive health care

Building the evidence

Around the world in settings impacted by climate change, we’ve
documented consistent harms to sexual and reproductive health,
including an increase in sexual and gender-based violence, child
marriage, unintended pregnancy, abortion with unsafe methods,
and maternal and infant deaths. Our research is participatory and
our approaches value the expertise and lived experience of those
most impacted by the crisis—not only to understand the impacts,
but also the solutions.
Learn more about our research findings
Ipas research in the news
In coastal Bangladesh, climate change devastates
women’s reproductive health
READ ON NBC NEWS

Advocating for reproductive health in all

climate solutions
Ipas staff participate in international fora like the annual United
Nations Climate Change Conference to highlight the importance of
including sexual and reproductive health care in all climate
solutions. We also work at the local and national levels to advocate
for women-led climate solutions and to support our partners—like
ministries of health and community-based groups—in developing
climate adaptation and resilience plans that focus on gender equity
and include reproductive health.