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Weathering Two Storms: Gender and Climate in Peace and Security - DPPA Practice Note

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1. Introduction

The world is facing unprecedented risks from climate change. Droughts, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events affect people, livelihoods, and economies across the world. Populations in fragile contexts, where past or current conflicts have undermined the capacity of institutions and communities to adapt to the changing environment, are particularly affected. In many places, climate impacts are compounding existing grievances and exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities, including those linked to gender and social inequity.

Of the close to one billion people who live in areas with high exposure to climate hazards, 40 percent also face low levels of peacefulness, which in turn correlates with low levels of women’s inclusion, participation, and security. It is no coincidence that the majority of United Nations (UN) field based special political missions and peacekeeping operations are deployed in contexts affected by the compounding effects of gender, climate, and security risks. Several recent studies, including by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Women in 2020, stress that recognizing gender differentiated experiences of climate risks can help identify entry points for conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also notes that the gendered nature of vulnerability and access to natural resources influence the efficacy of conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, and that this offers potential new avenues to build peace in conflict-prone regions vulnerable to climate change.

Understanding and unpacking this confluence of risks has become increasingly important in conflict and political analysis, in identifying peacemaking and peacebuilding opportunities, and in building resilient, peaceful, and inclusive societies. This practice note aims to contribute to this area from a peace and security perspective and responds to a growing demand from UN political affairs teams in the field and at headquarters for practical guidance. It identifies different ways in which peace and security, climate change, and gender can intersect and provides suggestions on how to think about these intersections in conflict and political analysis, as well as conflict prevention and peacemaking strategies.

The questions discussed in this practice note are meant as a food for thought for peace and security practitioners. The analysis draws on emerging work on the linkages between insecurity, gender inequality and climate vulnerability, as well as a series of interviews with practitioners and researchers in this field. This work is part of a broader effort by DPPA and the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) – composed of DPPA, UNEP, UNDP, and the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) – to advance policy and practice on the interlinkages between climate change and peace and security.