The climate crisis is deepening inequalities that leave women and girls most at risk, according to a new fact sheet issued by UN Women at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, on Tuesday. The report, titled “Gender Equality in the Age of Climate Crisis,” states that more than one in three women and girls worldwide—roughly 1.5 billion—live in “climate hotspots.” These areas are characterized by high exposure to hazards like droughts and cyclones combined with deep gender inequality and insecure jobs.
UN Women warns that if current trends continue toward 1.8°C of warming by 2050, a worst-case scenario could push up to 141 million additional women and girls into extreme poverty by mid-century. Sima Bahous, the agency’s Executive Director, stated that women are already leading the fight for a better future in communities, laboratories, parliaments, and on the front lines of the crisis. She emphasized that the world must give women and girls equal rights, resources, and the power to lead to drive the urgent change needed.
Data from 24 countries suggests that a 1°C increase in average temperatures could result in women losing 34 per cent more of their total income than men. This is likely due to their more limited ability to migrate or move to non-farm work when harvests fail. Additionally, climate change is increasing unpaid care responsibilities, such as collecting fuel and water and caring for family members after disasters. The warming world can also magnify factors driving gender-based violence; across 14 countries, exposure to prolonged extreme drought was associated with 21 per cent higher odds of sexual violence against adolescent girls and young women.
The crisis is also threatening progress toward ending child marriage. In 24 of 46 countries with relevant data, child marriage rates were higher in more arid environments than in more humid areas. Furthermore, 326 million women and girls still lack access to electricity while artificial intelligence technology increases energy demand.
While 73 per cent of countries’ climate action plans recognize the risks facing women and girls, UN Women notes that only just over one in three addresses them comprehensively. Women remain largely excluded from decision-making, holding just 12 per cent of energy portfolios, while only four per cent of climate-focused Official Development Assistance prioritises gender equality. The agency also highlighted that women environmental defenders face harassment or death for their work. At COP31, UN Women urged leaders to put gender equality and women’s rights at the heart of climate action, including guaranteeing their right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, protecting environmental rights defenders, and ensuring women have a greater role in decision-making.
