Climate Crisis Threatens to Push Millions of Women into Extreme Poverty

According to a fact sheet released at COP31, roughly 1.5 billion women and girls – more than one in three of the global female population – reside in so‑called climate hotspots. These are areas where hazards such as cyclones, droughts and floods intersect with insecure livelihoods and entrenched gender inequality. The concentration of women in these zones means they face heightened exposure to climate‑related shocks, a pattern that is especially pronounced in nations that have contributed the least to global emissions.

Data from 24 countries show that a 1 °C rise in average temperature could cause women to lose 34 % more of their total income than men, reflecting limited options to shift away from farm work or migrate when harvests fail. Climate change also expands unpaid care duties, from fetching water and fuel to caring for disaster‑affected relatives. In 14 countries, prolonged drought raised the odds of sexual violence against adolescent girls and young women by 21 %. Child marriage rates are higher in arid regions, and 326 million women and girls still lack electricity access.

While 73 % of national climate action plans acknowledge the risks women face, just over one in three address those risks comprehensively. Women hold only 12 % of energy‑sector portfolios, and merely 4 % of climate‑focused Official Development Assistance is earmarked for gender equality. UN Women urges leaders to embed women’s rights at the core of climate policies, protect female environmental defenders, and ensure women and girls have equal access to resources, decision‑making power and a clean, sustainable environment.