From COP30: Why Climate Justice Must Include Gender and Health

At COP30, our CEO, Bernadette Sexton, joined a panel hosted by UNFPA at the Luxembourg Pavilion focused on the impact of climate change on sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, and gender equality. She also met Mary Robinson, first female President of Ireland, former UNHCR High Commissioner, Elder, and leading climate justice advocate.

Climate change is not gender neutral. Pre-existing inequalities are intensified directly or indirectly, whether through slow-onset degradation or rapid-onset disasters. There are solutions.

Key to the conversation:

Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH)
Climate change amplifies SRH risks through disruptions to health systems, harmful coping strategies, displacement, and reduced access to essential services. In many contexts, SRH services, including antenatal care, contraception, menstrual hygiene, and safe delivery, are among the first to collapse following climate-induced shocks, whilst heat stress increases risks for pregnant women, including stillbirth and complications.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV)
Resource scarcity and economic strain escalate domestic violence and intimate partner violence during droughts, failed harvests, or lost livelihoods. Displacement and shelter insecurity increase exposure to sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking, and harassment. Inadequate WASH infrastructure forces women and girls to travel long distances for water or latrines, heightening the risk of assault. Child marriage rises as a coping strategy during climate-induced economic stress. Breakdown of protection systems in disasters leaves communities without safe reporting pathways or survivor services.

Climate Change and Gender Equity
Climate change exacerbates structural inequalities, limiting women’s livelihoods, safety, agency, and participation in decision-making. Unequal labour burdens, especially in water and fuel collection, intensify as droughts worsen or ecosystems degrade. Women’s livelihoods (agriculture, informal work, small enterprises) are disproportionately impacted by climate variability. Exclusion from climate decision-making persists in local and national adaptation planning processes. Limited access to climate finance for women-led organisations prevents equitable adaptation implementation. Education disruptions driven by climate shocks reduce future economic resilience for girls and young women.

Solutions

1. Integrate SRH, GBV, and gender equity into climate adaptation
   Investments should prioritise gender-responsive planning and risk assessments, including through practical training and capacity development for frontline actors.
2. Infrastructure and technical systems are critical for gender protection
   Infrastructure failures, collapsed clinics, inaccessible water systems, and unsafe shelters create downstream GBV and SRH risks.
3. Preparedness, early action, and DRR reduce gendered harm
   Early warning, community preparedness, and risk-sensitive planning reduce not only economic losses but also GBV and SRH impacts.
4. Invest in the adaptation workforce
   Strengthening the global adaptation workforce, including gender-aware humanitarians, engineers, and government planners, is a high-return investment area.