Understanding the Nexus Between Gender, Climate and Conflict Is Crucial for International Peace and Security

Nov 18, 2021 | Michelle Onello
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Understanding the nexus between gender, climate and conflict is crucial for developing successful policies to combat climate change and resolve conflicts, and women must meaningfully participate in shaping these strategies. A COP26 side event, “Sustainability, Equality, Peace: Integrating the Climate Change and Women, Peace and Security Agendas,” co-sponsored by Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, explored how best to advance gender-responsive policies, investments and interventions to mitigate climate change and resolve conflicts.

Climate change is a threat multiplier, and women face particular and disproportionate challenges from extreme weather variations which force migration, destroy livelihoods and break down social and family structures. Ultimately, climate crises and dwindling resources lead to conflict and contribute to the rise of extremism within these fragile contexts.

COP 26, the UN climate change conference, convened in Scotland from October 31 to November 12, 2021, and presented a crucial opportunity to understand these connections and chart a path towards climate solutions that reflect the mandates of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the UN Security Council (WPS Agenda), according to Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Institute for Women, Peace and Security and former U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues. The WPS Agenda, initiated by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000, is a policy framework requiring both a gender perspective and women’s equal and meaningful participation in peace processes and peacebuilding