Women in many developing countries are responsible for climatically sensitive tasks such as securing food, water and energy which ensure the food security and well-being of a household. The effects of climate change – droughts, floods, coastal erosion, sea level rise and rising temperatures – will put greater pressure on women to shoulder the adverse consequences on the household.

Women often have unequal access to information and resources, and are under-represented in decision-making which makes them even more vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme weather events. Despite women’s vulnerabilities, women’s knowledge and social practices could be used to build community resilience if women were included in adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Yet the impacts of climate change on women are not a mainstream focus in the key international agreements on climate change such as the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change). All key decision-making institutions related to climate change have a male-dominated hierarchal structure (Aguilar 2007).

In our region the impact of climate change on women is of particular signifiance. Pacific Island Nations are extremely vulnerable to climate change. Climatic conditions and extreme events - droughts, floods, sea level rise and coastal erosion, rising temperatures - will hurt food security and the well-being of Pacific Islanders, with women baring the brunt of the impact due to the responsibility held by women with Pacific communities in relation to food security and the well-being of a household.

To find out more information, please download the following factsheets in relation to gender and climate change: