Bearing the brunt of climate change

As temperatures rise and climate change becomes even more pronounced, it’s abundantly clear that global warming is a planetary phenomenon that will impact all countries. But the major challenge of the Anthropocene affects some people more than others as its effects are shaped by pervasive and entrenched gender inequality.

Jessica Farber advocates for human rights and forced migration in her role as Program Manager for the Canadian Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness. In her Research to Practice paper, written at McGill University, she investigated the disproportionate burden carried by women in the face of climate change.

“To make progress on climate change, we must support the dignity and the agency of those for whom climate change is a present and persistent concern. One potential avenue by which to do that is through empowering women to be agents of change.”

UN Women points out that while women bear the brunt of the burden of climate change, the critical role they can play in the management of natural resources and as agents of change is often overlooked in climate change negotiations, investments and policies.

The immediate effects of climate change are extreme and relentless—floods, droughts, tsunamis. They break apart communities and families, and destroy livelihoods. But the social impact is much more severe. Those who are already socially isolated and marginalised due to a combination of geographic isolation, discrimination, persecution, a legacy of colonisation, poverty, or inequality, are those who are most immediately vulnerable to the effects of climate-related disaster, and exacerbated isolation.

The United Nations states that ‘climate change represents the single biggest threat to development, and its widespread, unprecedented impacts disproportionately burden the poorest and most vulnerable.’ These disproportionate impacts occur all over the planet, heavily burdening entire countries in the southern hemisphere, as well as marginalised communities within countries, and even marginalised individuals within communities in the most affluent nations.

In much of Latin America, parts of Asia, and Africa, the warming climate has a direct effect on the spread of certain infectious diseases, which is in turn exacerbating social isolation in poor communities. Mosquito-borne illnesses such as Zika, Dengue, and West Nile Virus further isolate affected individuals and their families.

“Interestingly, it was not until the threat of Zika reached the shores of the United States that concerted research for a vaccine began, perhaps because the poor women living in the favelas of Rio did not offer enough of a profit incentive to justify the cost,” Farber pointed out.

While it is evident that the poor tend to pay the most for environmental disaster, it is important to consider the acute vulnerabilities of those who occupy multiple marginalised identities. Women, especially poor women, and poor rural women, experience the effects of climate change in vastly different ways than their male and urban counterparts.

Plus, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, gender-based violence and exploitation rise as resources dwindle, land becomes increasingly uninhabitable, and climate change intensifies.

“When an earthquake hits, it is often women who stay behind to ensure the safety of their family members,” explained Farber. “When floods or droughts come, it is women who are raped at night while walking the extra miles for water, and women who are usually the first to abandon their education to help their communities to recover from the effects of disaster.”

A 2015 post-disaster assessment in Myanmar revealed that while women showed greater resilience to the devastation and a stronger willingness to recover, their pre-disaster vulnerabilities—including malnutrition, lower incomes, and higher food insecurity than men—were exacerbated.

Refugee girls are half as likely to be in school as refugee boys. In Australia, domestic abuse spikes after bushfires. In Malawi, climate change disruptions could create 1.5 million additional child brides in the years ahead. Marrying off daughters early becomes a coping mechanism as overall security and stability is diminished and economic pressure on families intensifies.

When pregnant women are displaced, they’re less likely to receive adequate pre- and post-natal care, which increases their risk of complications. More than half of the women who die during childbirth are in countries where health care systems have been heavily disrupted. Food and water insecurity prevent pregnant women getting the nutrients they need. Worsening heat waves expose the women who have to travel to get water and fuel sources to health problems like dehydration and heat stroke.

With climate-related disasters growing more frequent every year, recognising the needs and interests of those who are affected most is crucial in making progress on climate change. UN Women has launched programs in several countries that harness the power of women to lead the sustainability movement, reduce the risks of post-disaster devastation, and build capacity and foster a sense of belonging and purpose. One such project in Laramate, Peru, supports rural indigenous women in returning to their ancestral techniques of choose and conserving seeds and cultivating the land.

“The result has been a healthier and wider variety of crops, improved incomes for the women and their communities, and an increase in women’s participation in public spaces and decision-making by recognising their unique role as holders of this ancestral knowledge and skills in agriculture,” said Farber.

Another program in El Salvador provides training to rural women to lead their communities in preparing for natural disasters. This not only facilitates the rise of strong female community leaders, but trains women to train other women to advocate for their rights and become leaders, according to Share El Salvador, the organisation running the program.

Solar Sister, a women-led initiative in Africa, helps communities build small-scale solar grids to become energy independent. The Barefoot College trains women to be solar engineers to install and maintain clean sources of energy.

“As such projects highlight, recognising women’s heightened vulnerabilities to climate change and their potential to affect change will be key in the implementation of future projects,” explained Farber. “To even have a chance at turning back the clock on climate change, individuals of every age, race, sex, gender, ethnicity, ability, and postal code must have a voice, and must be empowered to create change.” ■