Climate, Peace, Security and Gender

Climate-related security risks are not gender-neutral; they intersect with existing social, political and economic inequalities, shaping people’s exposure to risk, capacity to adapt and inclusion in peacebuilding. Gender inequalities, such as limited access to financial resources and exclusion from decision making, undermine the ability of women and marginalized groups to respond to climate change and contribute to sustainable peace. To address climate-related security risks effectively, gender considerations must be integrated into analysis, planning and implementation.

Read the fact sheet here.

• Social norms and gender roles constrain the adaptive capacity of women and sexual and gender minorities. Discriminatory laws, unpaid care burdens and exclusion from leadership limit access to resources and reduce resilience.
• Climate stressors and shocks deepen gender inequalities by increasing food insecurity, displacement and gender-based violence, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected areas, although impacts are highly context specific.
•  Women are disproportionately affected but they are also leading climate adaptation and peacebuilding. Across regions, women innovate locally grounded solutions that sustain livelihoods, manage natural resources and foster social cohesion. Unlocking their full potential requires dismantling structural barriers to participation.
•  Amplifying and investing in women-led initiatives, including through both the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda and the climate, peace and security (CPS) agenda, is essential to strengthening community resilience and advancing sustainable peace.

Advancing gender-responsive climate, peace and security measures requires broad participation and commitment. This includes empowering underrepresented groups and engaging those with social and political power to advance the CPS and WPS agendas and foster inclusive governance. Several United Nations resolutions and initiatives already recognize these links, for example, the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to develop gender-differentiated climate risk assessments and the UN Peacebuilding Fund’s increasing support for women-led initiatives addressing climate and conflict. However, gender remains inconsistently addressed in climate policies, while climate risks are largely absent from WPS frameworks, highlighting the need for more coordinated, intersectional approaches across both agendas.