Editor’s note: This article is part of the #Interlinked series designed by the Sustainable Development Goals working group from Generation Climate Europe. The objective of this campaign is to raise awareness of the interlinkages existing between climate change and other SDGs.

“If we took away barriers to women’s leadership, we would solve the climate change problem a lot faster” – Mary Robinson

Climate change has taken the central stage in the current political discussions around the world, however, it does not affect all regions nor populations equally. Women, in particular, are among those the most affected by climate change all over the world. The interlinkages existing between climate change and gender equality are often missing from the current debates and this article will attempt to reflect on this issue.

Such interlinkages were already identified, inter alia, in 2015, when all UN member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs represent a political recognition that ending poverty is a priority, one which must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, equality and job opportunities while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. All global goals are therefore interrelated including Goal 5 (gender equality) and Goal 13 (climate action) which this article sheds light on.

Climate change exacerbates already existing gender inequalities. Women face historical disadvantages with limited access to decision-making and financial, physical and human resources that further weakens their capacity to prevent, face and respond to the challenges of climate change. 

Women and men have different relationships to the environment, such as their access to land and natural resources and their engagement in environmental management. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has acknowledged that women face higher risks and bear a greater burden of the consequences of climate change. In developing countries, they are among those the hardest hit by climate hazards due to lower adaptive capacities. Women, who account for the majority of the world’s poor, are disproportionately affected by climate disruption in developing countries. Since they are often the ones responsible for securing resources including water, food and energy, they, therefore, heavily rely on local natural resources for their livelihoods. The rise in natural disasters linked to climate change makes it more difficult to secure these resources, threatening the lives of those who depend on them not only to survive daily but also to face those catastrophes.

And yet, a gender approach to climate issues remains one of the most neglected topics in environmental debates, both at the global and EU levels.

At the European Union level, although efforts to reduce poverty and improve health have been observed, the recent Eurostat monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs highlighted the bloc’s slow or no overall progress towards its goals in addressing climate change and promoting gender equality. While the EU is taking the lead on the international stage in climate negotiations, the gender dimension is predominantly missing from the debates and, consequently, from policy initiatives in the EU and on the global level. In order to achieve sustainability, all stakeholders should be included and in particular those the most impacted by climate change. Women are among the first victims of climate change around the globe and those who have the least capacity to respond to it. Women’s unequal participation in decision-making processes reinforces these inequalities and often prevents women from fully contributing to climate-related policies. It is thus crucial to highlight the interlinkages existing between climate change and gender equality to better address the challenges ahead and empower women to have their voice heard at the EU and global level.

The first obstacle at the EU level is the scarcity of studies and research on the issue. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published a report in 2012 stressing the important links existing between gender equality and climate change. In the EU, the gender dimension is relevant to climate change in the different ways women and men contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, perceive, mitigate and adapt to climate change. They are also differently influenced by the socio-economic impacts of climate policies. Decision-making is a key area where women are less represented than men which can strengthen inequalities and negatively impact the effectiveness of climate change policies if they do not include all members of society. The gender imbalance is also reflected in the lower proportion of women graduating in scientific and technological fields which are tainted by gender stereotypes as well as the lack of female role models and outdated not gender-blind career counselling in upper-secondary education. 

As exemplified in this article, women are overburdened by climate change impacts and not granted the same decision-making opportunities as men, often resulting in being the forgotten ones of climate policy. Because climate change affects women and men differently, it is critical to adopt a gender equality perspective when discussing policy development, decision-making, and strategies for climate change adaptation and mitigation at all levels of action. Women should be awarded equal opportunities to influence and benefit from climate-related policies. The lack of academic research on the issue also proves the need to further study and better understand the interlinkages existing between climate change and gender equality, especially in the EU bloc where relevant and recent studies are harder to find. In the interest of effective and gender-equal climate policy, ambitions should go beyond “gender language” and aim at a deeper system change involving not only gender mainstreaming but also a transformation of gender relations and societal structures.

However, although women are often portrayed as among the main victims of climate change, they are also powerful agents of change, and their leadership is essential. In most developing countries, they often better understand their immediate environment due to their experience in managing natural resources (water, forests, biodiversity and soil) and their involvement in climate-sensitive activities (such as farming). In the EU, more actions are needed towards increasing both women’s enrolment in scientific and technological educational fields and participation in high-level climate-related decision-making positions. Women’s knowledge, skills and capabilities should be more valued and complement men’s, particularly to design and implement effective and sustainable adaptation and mitigation initiatives that will benefit and contribute equally to all.