Climate Change
Climate change is increasingly recognized as a global threat to peace. Effective responses to conflict prevention and peacebuilding in affected countries and regions require strengthening social inclusion and leveraging the agency of women – especially local women – who are on the frontlines of climate change.
Climate change impacts people’s abilities to perform gender roles; in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, different forms of insecurity and violence can emerge when these gender roles are frustrated. At the same time, climate change can also contribute to social shifts that lead to new responsibilities and opportunities for women and men in economic decisions and activity, political engagement, community arbitration, and mediation.
Responses to climate change are also gendered. Decisions about or related to climate change are most often taken by (elite) males, and thus do not systematically consider how they may impact the security and livelihoods of other genders, and males who are less privileged. Furthermore, they rarely take into account how gender roles have been impacted by climate change or how opportunities to strengthen political and economic gender equity could be supported through climate-related decisions.
Until recently, however, significant gaps in our understanding of how gender, natural resources, climate, and conflict are linked have constrained effective responses. Over-simplistic analysis of gender has also been an obstacle, leading to important oversights in understanding how different identities – gender and otherwise – intersect and compound marginalization. These oversights have serious implications for understanding the security risks and implications of climate change and its responses, like preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation, and recurrence of conflict.
Key Resources
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda and the Climate Crisis: Inextricable Links
This talk was presented as part of the research seminar, African Perspectives on the 20th Anniversary of UNSCR 325 - Gendering Peace and Security, The…Climate Change in Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans
This SIPRI Insights paper explores how the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) national action plans (NAPs) of 80 states frame and respond to climate change…Women and Climate Change: Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security, and Economic Development
This report comes at an important time of international observance when new commitments to action will be made, coinciding not only with the fifteenth anniversaries…Gender and Environmental (In)Security: From Climate Conflict to Ecosystem Instability
For decades, scholars, policy makers, and the media have discussed the connections between security and climate change. These actors have utilized various discourses and narratives…Gender, Conflict, and Global Environmental Change
Gender has long been identified as an important variable in both conflict (de-)escalation processes and vulnerability or adaptive capacity toward global environmental change. We understand…Women’s Resilience to Disasters Knowledge Hub
The WRD Knowledge Hub brings together a network of people who support women and girls affected by disasters and climate change.We champion women’s agency and…
Resources
Herder-Related Violence, Labor Allocation, and the Gendered Response of Agricultural Households
Library
Violent conflict between nomadic herders and settled agricultural communities in Nigeria occurs as both groups clash over the use of land and natural resources, in…
Gender Responsive Climate Security Assessment for Sri Lanka
Library
Commissioned by the UNDP–DPPA Joint Programme and UN Women with the support from the Government of Australia, and conducted by adelphi research, this pioneering assessment…
Call for Proposal: Gender, Climate, and Social Cohesion
Announcement
Given Afghanistan's increased climate vulnerability and the dispropotionate impact on women anand girls, this CfP aims to (1) leverage media platforms (TV, radio, digital initiatives)…
When the Smoke Clears: How Hybrid Warfare Exploits Gender Vulnerabilities in Climate Disasters
Spotlight
The hurricane passes. The wildfire is contained. The flood waters recede. Then the real fight begins.
We are beginning to understand how the vulnerabilities exposed in…
Mali: Combating Climate Change for Peace in Mali
International
Mali is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world. Between 1970 and 2020, the country experienced at least 40 major…
Climate Justice in Action: Activism and Adaptation in Eastern Africa
Book
Eastern Africa is one of the most climate vulnerable regions of the world, and this book is the first to highlight the direct action and…
Brief: Gender-Responsive Action for Women's Food Security and Nutrition in Asia and the Pacific
Briefs & Development
In 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recognized the impacts of climate change in undermining food security for women, noting that…
Liberia: COP30 - a Turning Point Missed - and a Line Drawn for Frontline Women Defenders
Blog
Monrovia — COP30 has come and gone in Belém, Brazil--another global climate summit marked by lofty promises and limited political courage.
The declarations were bold, the…
Winter in Afghanistan: Women and Girls in the Front Line as Hunger Deepens
Blog
As winter sets in across Afghanistan, so does dread. “There’s usually a peak in child mortality in December and January, even in a good year,…
India: The Green Burden: Women, Climate Action, and The Unfinished Revolution In India – Analysis
International
In India’s changing climate, where failed monsoons, raging rivers and searing heatwaves define daily life – women stand at the frontlines of survival and sustainability.…
Ghana/Senegal: Oxfam In Africa- Climate Justice Advocacy and Campaigns Advisor
Job
This is a 12-month regional mandate for Oxfam in Africa based in Senegal or Ghana
The mandate is under the Equality in Action Volunteer Cooperation Program…
No dejar a nadie atrás: ¿Por qué la Protección Social Adaptativa debe ser sensible al género e inclusiva?
Spotlight
Mientras el mundo enfrenta una convergencia de crisis, desde las amenazas urgentes de los extremos climáticos y las pandemias hasta los desafíos de largo plazo…
Leaving No One Behind: Why Adaptive Social Protection Must Be Gender-Responsive and Inclusive
Spotlight
As the world grapples with a convergence of crises, from the urgent threats of climate extremes and pandemics to the long-term challenges of economic shocks…
Liberia: UNDP Hosts Gender Workshop for Inclusive Forest Governance
International
Monrovia, Liberia; December 11, 2025: To promote inclusive forest governance and ensure equitable participation in natural resource management, the European Union funded Leh Go Green…
Global: Women Human Rights Defenders Powering Climate Justice
International
Across the globe, women environmental defenders lead the fight for a just and sustainable future. They steward resources, protect and restore forests and other landscapes,…
UK: Northern Ireland’s Rural Women at ‘Disproportionate Risk’ from Climate Change Carbon Budgets, Warns Campaign Group
International
Rural women in the north are among those that could facing a “disproportionate” impact from the government’s future carbon-cutting budgets, according to a campaign group.
It comes…
Cultivating Women’s Leadership for Resilient Agrifood Systems
Blog
Women’s representation and leadership have long been recognized as drivers of more inclusive, equitable, and resilient food systems. Yet, too often, leadership is confused with…
How Climate and Gender Shape Peace and Security: From Mandates to Meaningful Change
Blog
October 2025 marked twenty-five years since the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Amid rising polarization, escalating conflicts, and the intensifying…
USA: Kroc Institute Visiting Research Fellowship 2026-2027
Job
Each year, the Kroc Institute's Visiting Research Fellows Program brings outstanding scholars focused on peace research to the University of Notre Dame for a semester…
Environmental Peacebuilding and the Gender–Climate–Security Nexus: Global Frameworks and Local Realities in an Increasingly Volatile World
Library
In an era defined by interconnected crises—climate change, violent conflicts, resurgence of nationalist-populist discourses, and deepening gender inequalities—furthering our understanding on how these convergent issues…
Gender is the Key to a Healthy Planet and People: Reflections from the Biodiversity-Health Press Conference at SBSTTA-27
Blog
Traditional health systems, rooted in centuries of empirical knowledge, reveal the interdependence between ecosystems and human health. However, women’s ecological and health-related knowledge has often…
Gender, Development, and Recognition of Anthropogenic Climate Change
Library
Climate change affects everyone – but not everyone understands it in the same way. Using survey data from a study of 103 countries and territories (n = 92,691)…
Global: Building Gender-Responsive Climate Security: Inside CGIAR’s New Training Module Why Gender Matters in Climate Security?
International
Climate change impacts are not gender-neutral and vary across population groups. Women, children, minority groups, refugees, the elderly, and people with disabilities face differential vulnerabilities linked to…
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Environmental Peacebuilding Awards (Deadline: 30 November 2025)
Announcement
To honor outstanding contributions to environmental peacebuilding, the Environmental Peacebuilding Association is pleased to present awards to leaders, practitioners, and researchers from our community.The Environmental…
Tackling the Complex Links between Climate Change, Conflict, and Health
Library
Climate and conflict seriously threaten human health. From 1995 to 2015, more than 10 million child deaths were attributed to conflict, while women of reproductive…
The Power of Gender: New Generation of REDD+ Action in the LAC Region
Library
To help disseminate how these countries are using innovative solutions to undertake this work, the UN-REDD Programme is supporting the development of this case study…
Senegal/Ghana: Oxfam In Africa- Climate Justice Advocacy and Campaigns advisor
Job
This is a 12-month regional mandate for Oxfam in Africa based in Senegal or Ghana. The mandate is under the Equality in Action Volunteer Cooperation…
Kenya: Programme & Impact Coordinator (Green Economy)
Job
For the past 30 years, Acted has been working at the forefront of humanitarian action to save lives. Acted supports more than 27 million people…
The Philippines: DENR Exec Highlights Link Between Women Leaders and Environmental Protection
International
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Strategic Communications Marilou Erni emphasized that environmental protection and peacebuilding are deeply interconnected with women as…
Zambia: Zambian Women Take the Lead in Adapting Food Systems to Climate Change
International
Women play vital roles as actors and innovators in food systems worldwide. In many societies, they are the primary food producers, accounting for between 60%…