Women and Poverty Due to Climate Change

Poverty and climate change are closely related.  The poorest and most disadvantaged people tend to rely on climate-sensitive agriculture for their livelihood, which makes them more vulnerable.  These people do not have the resources needed to endure climate change and are forced into unsustainable practices such as deforestation in order to make a living.

The majority of the world’s poor are women.  Women in developing nations are especially vulnerable to climate change because they are very dependent on natural resources for their livelihood.  In these places, women are less likely to participate in policy making and implementation, and community decision-making in climate related planning, so they do not learn how to adapt to climate change.  They have less time to engage in the community and paid work, so their incomes are lower and they lose out on opportunities.

In developing nations where women face the greatest challenges, they have no access to credit, and treatment by formal institutions constrains their opportunities, and contributes to gender inequality in earnings and productivity.

Without the participation of women in climate change projects, inequality will increase.  A greater awareness for gender-responsive climate change policy must be implemented so that the needs and priorities of women in developing countries be met.

Gender equality, the right to healthcare, and the right to development, are basic human rights. The empowerment of women is essential to having an equal balance in developing countries so that they may contribute to decisions that impact their lives. If women in these communities had more free time, they could contribute to policy making within their own community and country, participate in local politics, develop leadership skills, and invest more time in their children’s educations and well-being.

Over the next decade, billions of people will experience shortages of water and food, risks to health and life due to extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. which further risk their health and lives. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change/(UNFCCC), climate impact on the Asia-Pacific region will include increase in the frequency of disasters such as heat waves, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, dust storms, intense rainfall, sea level rise and prolonged dry spells.

It is essential and urgent that gender-specific strategies be implemented in the places where women are vulnerable and in crisis.  Their knowledge of resources management, productive and reproductive activities, and sharing of information related to the community well-being, can contribute to strategies that mitigate climate change, and make them leaders on a global level.

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