Climate change fight must be 'gender-transformative' to succeed

“Climate change is a threat multiplier that amplifies inequalities and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities.”

This statement by United Nations Women best captures one of the most uncomfortable truths in the fight against climate crisis: Men and women are affected by climate change differently and unless we address the gendered inequalities, climate justice will remain a pipe-dream.

Research has shown that climate change often has more severe consequences on vulnerable groups such as children, women, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and marginalised gender groups. This disproportionate impact is mainly due to entrenched structural and cultural barriers that limit their access to resources, decision-making spaces, and the necessary finances to help them cope with the effects of climate change.

According to a UN Women report, by 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and result in 236 million more facing food insecurity. The report says women and girls are more vulnerable to disasters in terms of both the immediate impacts as well as their capacity to recover in the aftermath. For instance, when food, water and other resources become scarce due to changing climate, women are forced to work harder – and even travel farther.

This calls for a gender-transformative approach to the fight against climate change. Such approach demands that women, the youth, and people with disabilities are not only included in all stages of climate mitigation and adaptation, but should be empowered in ways that make them resilient to climatic vagaries.

Gender-transformative approaches could include pushing for gender-responsive climate finance, advocating for simplified access to resources for women, youth, and marginalised communities who are on the frontlines of climate-related disasters, and even doing simple things like translating climate strategies into formats accessible to persons with disabilities.

And while still at it, it is worth noting that “gender” in this context is not synonymous with “women”. And women are not homogeneous. Gender identity intersects with age, disability, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and geography. So, we miss the point when we assume that “including women” is sufficient “gender representation”. Such nuanced approach to the meaning of “gender” helps in tailoring climate responses to the specific vulnerabilities of different groups.

To its credit, Kenya, which has in recent years emerged as a vocal player in global climate negotiations – from hosting the Africa Climate Summit in 2023 to its robust engagement at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year – has made commendable strides in embedding gender considerations into national climate policy.

Kenya’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 2020 submitted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), acknowledges the need to be gender sensitive in climate actions. NDCs refer to climate action plans that individual countries develop and submit under the Paris Agreement, outlining how they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Also, Kenya’s Climate Change (Amendment) Act now mandates the inclusion of marginalised groups in climate governance. These are welcome gestures.

But it is no longer enough to just be “gender-sensitive”. We must be gender-transformative to win the war against the disproportionate effects of climate change. That means going beyond representation, and tackling the deeper norms, systems, and power dynamics that make some people more vulnerable than others. The question therefore should be: How can we redesign climate action to address the needs and priorities of all genders, especially those historically excluded?

In other words, how can we develop and implement policies that ensure women and girls, people with disabilities, and the youth have equal access to resources, education, technology, and decision-making opportunities? How can we implement locally-led, climate-smart solutions? How can we boost livelihoods and empower marginalised groups through climate-resilient agriculture, and access to green technologies? These are important questions to ask because they touch on economic empowerment, a necessary step in helping communities adapt to climate change while also creating lasting economic benefits.

Supporting community adaptation initiatives where women’s cooperatives, youth-led innovations, and organisations of persons with disabilities co-design early warning systems, climate-smart agriculture, and water conservation strategies is important. The goal is to elevate the lived knowledge and leadership of those who are often overlooked in policy documents but are central to climate resilience on the ground.

This model aligns with the UNFCCC’s Gender Action Plan, which emphasises the importance of gender-responsive implementation of climate policies. Too often, gender elements in climate policies remain siloed, underfunded, or buried in technical language that excludes the very communities they are meant to serve.

The war against climate change will only be won by ensuring voices of all marginalised groups are made central to how resources are allocated, how risks are assessed, and how adaptation solutions are scaled.