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Addressing the gendered double burden of the climate crisis

ByNitya Mohan Khemka,
Jan 08, 2025 01:38 PM IST

This article is authored by Dr Nitya Mohan Khemka, director, PATH and Suryaprabha Sadasivan, senior vice president, public policy, Chase India, New Delhi.

COP29 concluded with mixed outcomes. The critical issue of embedding gender-responsive strategies into climate actions remains a pressing challenge. Women in climate-vulnerable regions face what we term a "double burden"—they are disproportionately affected by environmental changes while simultaneously bearing increased social and economic responsibilities within their communities, often without adequate resources or representation in decision-making processes.

A view shows a venue of the COP29 United Nations climate change conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday. (REUTERS) PREMIUM
A view shows a venue of the COP29 United Nations climate change conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday. (REUTERS)

Health emerges as a critical dimension within this intersection of climate and gender. COP29 advanced the conversation initiated by COP28’s inaugural health day by highlighting the urgency of embedding health in climate discussions. However, progress in addressing women's heightened health vulnerabilities remains negligible. In the months to come, as the world prepares for COP30, the case for not only putting gender at the centre of climate finance discussions but also considering its critical intersections, such as health, is clearer than ever.

Asia, among the most climate-vulnerable regions, faces profound disparities at the intersection of climate, health, and gender. Women in the region, face heightened risks of waterborne diseases, malnutrition, and pregnancy complications due to environmental degradation. The climate crisis also significantly impacts their mental health, with higher rates of anxiety and depression compounded by limited decision-making power and systemic inequities that restrict access to resilience-building resources.

Currently, the existing frameworks often prioritise large-scale infrastructure and energy projects over initiatives addressing immediate health needs in vulnerable communities. For instance, projects like flood-resilient water systems that could prevent waterborne diseases often receive less attention than mitigation efforts, despite their critical role in protecting community health.

The cost of adapting to the climate crisis is daunting, with developing economies needing $ 5.5 trillion every year, according to UNCTAD. Yet, the current flow of global climate finance barely scratches the surface. For instance, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) estimates that $ 3.2 trillion is required for health-related climate action to address the climate crisis’s impact on public health. Alarmingly, these needs remain overlooked by existing funding mechanisms.

Adding to this, only 10% of climate finance reaches local communities, as per the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)—a troubling gap, particularly in regions like South Asia, where over 750 million people have faced climate-related disasters in just two decades.

Accessing these critical funds remains a significant challenge. Climate finance mechanisms tend to favour large-scale mitigation projects, such as renewable energy initiatives, over adaptation efforts like flood-resilient water systems that could directly address health risks. For women in rural areas, barriers like limited awareness and overly complex processes only deepen this inequity.

Women's role as leaders in climate resilience represents an untapped potential. As first responders in disasters—managing household resources and ensuring food and water security—women demonstrate immense capability as agents of change. Successful models, such as Nepal's Gender and Climate Change Action Plan, show the transformative impact of gender-responsive approaches. Nepal's Gender and Climate Change Action Plan empowers women through capacity-building programmes for local adaptation. India's Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, providing clean cooking energy to over 103 million households, shows how addressing gender-specific needs can improve both health outcomes and climate resilience.

These successes show that empowering women creates a ripple effect, strengthening community-wide resilience and accelerating progress toward sustainable development. However, these successes remain fragmented and need to be scaled up globally. A broader, gender-sensitive policy framework is essential to position women as active agents of change rather than passive beneficiaries of aid. The UNDP Small Grants Programme illustrates how supporting women-led initiatives can combine environmental conservation with health benefits, such as improving access to clean water while reducing exposure to climate-sensitive diseases.

Looking ahead to COP30, we must prioritise three key actions:

  • First, redesign climate finance mechanisms to explicitly target women's health needs. This includes dedicated funding for mental health services, climate-resilient health care infrastructure in vulnerable regions as well as integrating mental health services into climate adaptation strategies
  • Second, establish accountability frameworks ensuring financial resources and decision-making power reach women at the grassroots level. Gender-disaggregated metrics and community-led monitoring can help track progress and impact. Building partnerships to strengthen health care systems in vulnerable regions is also key.
  • Third, create platforms amplifying women's voices in climate negotiations, supported by technical and financial resources enabling their meaningful participation.

As we look ahead to future COPs and other international platforms, the integration of health considerations—particularly for women—must become a core priority in climate finance and policy. Health must be a central pillar of resilience planning, not an auxiliary benefit.

Collaboration is key to driving this agenda forward. Governments, businesses, and civil society must work together to ensure that health-responsive climate finance is inclusive, accessible, and impactful. This includes creating funding mechanisms that explicitly target women’s health, building partnerships to strengthen health care systems in vulnerable regions, and amplifying women’s voices in global climate negotiations. Addressing the double burden through targeted, health-responsive climate finance is not just an ethical imperative; it is a practical necessity for building a sustainable and equitable future. Only by addressing the double burden through such integrated approaches can we ensure that our path to sustainability leaves no one behind.

This article is authored by Dr Nitya Mohan Khemka, director, PATH and Suryaprabha Sadasivan, senior vice president, public policy, Chase India, New Delhi.

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