{"id":77543,"date":"2026-04-06T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=77543"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:16:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:16:38","slug":"why-climate-action-needs-to-focus-on-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/why-climate-action-needs-to-focus-on-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Climate Action Needs to Focus on Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Climate change is an ever-growing problem – centering women is key to the solution, a new UN report says. (Credit: EqualStock IN, Pexels<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It’s well-documented that climate change<\/a> disproportionately impacts women. When there’s extreme weather or disasters, women face higher mortality rates, greater chances of gender-based violence, increased caregiving responsibilities and more economic instability. Crafting solutions that center women<\/a> could make a global difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s according to UN Women, which ahead of this year’s Earth Month called<\/a> 2026 a “pivotal opportunity to advance gender equality in the global environmental agenda.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an article<\/a> on its site, the organization noted that “the climate crisis is not ‘gender neutral’,” and that “the lived experiences, rights, and meaningful participation of all women and girls \u2013 especially those in frontline communities \u2013 must be kept front and center as we work towards a healthier, safer and more equitable world for all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UN Women’s focus follows a 2025 report<\/a> from United Nations Climate Change, which detailed a decade-long roadmap for combating climate change in ways that center women\u2019s needs and perspectives. “Stronger climate action delivers huge benefits for people in their daily lives. More jobs, more economic opportunities and lower health costs. Applying a gender-responsive approach ensures that those benefits are shared equally,\u201d said Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women-focused solutions include tapping into Indigenous women\u2019s expertise to improve regional food security, weaving inclusivity into clean energy job creation, and developing low-carbon transportation solutions that help women, in particular, get around.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n \"Madeline\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n \n Earth Month 2026: These Women Are Taking Climate Action\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

The commitment to frame the climate change fight in this way was first made in 2024 at COP29, when nations at the conference decided to extend the Enhanced Lima Work Program on Gender and Climate Change<\/a>, a plan initially conceived as a three-year effort to mitigate the growing problem.\u00a0 \u201c[This] decision acknowledges the critical role of gender mainstreaming into all relevant goals and targets,\u201d officials said at the time. \u201cThis integration is seen as contributing towards enhancing the effectiveness, fairness and sustainability of climate policy and action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, research has demonstrated how a changing climate increasingly harms women’s economic prospects<\/a>, autonomy<\/a> \u2013 and lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a 2024 analysis<\/a> by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that women, internationally, are more likely to be injured or killed by extreme weather events \u2013 usually due to lack of prenatal care and upticks in sexual violence. \u201cAfter extreme weather events, risks to women go way up, and they go up in many different ways,\u201d Cecilia Sorensen, director of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University, told AAMC at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not that President Donald Trump’s administration is taking any of it seriously here in the U.S. During his second term, he has signed executive orders<\/a> that aim to prohibit states from enacting laws to curb fossil fuel use, while also calling for an increase in coal production. It\u2019s part of a broader push<\/a> during his second tenure to undo American efforts against climate change, which also includes pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the more reason to strategize by centering women in the climate fight, international researchers agree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UN Women said it will promoting “inclusive and equitable gender action plans” throughout the year, including three upcoming summits — the COP17 on desertification in Mongolia in August, the COP17 on biodiversity in Armenia in October, and COP31 on climate change in Turkey in November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It has never been clearer: Climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification are making our economies, our health, and progress on gender equality more precarious,” the organization said. “There is a path forward: just transitions away from economies and societies dependent on fossil fuels and harmful environmental practices \u2013 and towards greater sustainability and gender equality.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n Finding Safe Spots to Shed Climate Anxiety\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This post, updated for 2026, was originally published April 9, 2025.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With women more likely to be killed or injured by extreme weather, UN Women says it’s critical to apply a gender lens to policy prescriptions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":77545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"Climate change is an ever-growing problem - centering women is key to the solution, a new UN report 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