UN Women: ‘1.5 billion women and girls live in climate hotspots, unpaid care responsibilities rising amid climate hazards’
New Delhi: As world leaders gather at Antalya for the 31st UN Climate Conference, UN Women released a fact sheet on Tuesday highlighting that based on data from 24 countries a 1°C increase in average temperatures is associated with women losing 34% more of their total income than men. “Of the 1.8 billion people without water on their premises, women are primary water collectors in two-thirds of households. The fact sheet highlights that more than one in three women and girls worldwide – at least 1.5 billion – live in climate hotspots, where high exposure to climate hazards, insecure jobs and deep gender inequality collide. just over one in three address them comprehensively, says the report While 73% of countries recognise the climate risks facing women and girls. Women remain largely excluded from climate decision-making, holding just 12% of energy portfolios globally, and women environmental defenders face harassment and even death for protecting their communities and the planet. Moreover, developing countries receive less than a third of the climate finance they need, while just 4% of climate-focused official development assistance prioritises gender equality.
Under a high-emissions scenario, the time spent collecting water could increase by up to 30% by 2050,” the UN Women fact sheet on “Gender Equality in the Age of Climate Crisis” states. “On the current trajectory, the world is headed for a minimum of 1.8°C of heating, unleashing even more devastating droughts, floods, wildfires and cyclones, and creating irreversible loss and damage to communities and ecosystems,” the UN Women states and calls on world leaders at ‘COP31’ to put gender equality and women’s rights at the heart of climate action. This likely reflects their more limited ability to shift to non-farm work or migrate when harvests fail. Also climate change is increasing unpaid care responsibilities such as collection of water and fuel, and care for family members in the aftermath of disasters.