Climate crisis could push 141 million more women into extreme poverty

That’s according to “Gender Equality in the Age of Climate Crisis”, a new fact sheet issued by UN Women at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, on Tuesday. 

“The climate crisis threatens planetary life and is deepening the inequalities that leave women and girls most at risk,” it says. 

The report finds that women and girls in the countries least responsible for climate change are the hardest hit by its effects. 

Rights, resources and power 

The world is currently heading towards 1.8°C of warming by 2050, if current trends continue, which will result in even more devastating droughts, floods, wildfires and cyclones. 

UN Women warns that under a worst-case scenario, climate change could push up to 141 million additional women and girls into extreme poverty by mid-century. 

“Across the world, women are already leading the fight for a better future – in their communities, in laboratories, in parliaments and on the front lines of the climate crisis,” said Sima Bahous, the agency’s Executive Director. 

“We must give women and girls equal rights, resources and the power to lead, and they will help drive the change our world so urgently needs.” 

Rising temperatures, falling incomes 

Data from 24 countries indicates that a 1°C increase in average temperatures could lead to women losing 34 per cent more of their total income than men, which is likely due to their more limited ability to move to non-farm work or migrate when harvests fail. 

Climate change is also increasing women’s unpaid care responsibilities, such as collecting water and fuel and caring for family members following disasters. 

Our warming world can also magnify existing factors that drive 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. 

Progress at risk 

The climate crisis is also putting progress towards ending child marriage at risk. In 24 of 46 countries with relevant data, rates of child marriage were higher in more arid environments than in more humid areas. At the same time, 326 million women and girls still lack access to electricity even as artificial intelligence (AI) technology drives up energy demand. 

Concern for environmental activists 

Although 73 per cent of countries’ climate action plans recognize the risks facing women and girls, only just over one in three addresses them comprehensively. 

Women are still largely excluded from climate decision-making, holding just 12 per cent of energy portfolios, while just four per cent of climate-focused Official Development Assistance prioritises gender equality. At the same time, women environmental defenders are facing harassment or even death for standing up for their communities and the planet.  

At COP31, UN Women is urging leaders to put gender equality and women’s rights at the heart of climate action, which includes recognising and guaranteeing their right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 

The agency also calls for protecting women environmental rights defenders and ensuring women and girls have a greater role in decision-making, among other recommendations.