Gender equality, women's rights, and environmental sustainability: the case of climate change

This paper seeks to draw attention to the linkages between gender equality, women’s rights and climate change by exploring its international legal and policy dimension. To this end, the paper describes how these linkages have been addressed both within the international climate change regime and the international human rights regime. The analysis shows that both regimes have recognized, to a certain extent, the importance of integrating a gender and human rights perspective into efforts to tackle climate change. However, so far, attempts to integrate both perspectives have taken a parallel rather than an integrated approach. Therefore, the author highlights the need for a gender-responsive human rights based approach to climate change.This paper seeks to draw attention to the linkages between gender equality, women’s rights and climate change by exploring its international legal and policy dimension. To this end, the paper describes how these linkages have been addressed both within the international climate change regime and the international human rights regime. The analysis shows that both regimes have recognized, to a certain extent, the importance of integrating a gender and human rights perspective into efforts to tackle climate change. However, so far, attempts to integrate both perspectives have taken a parallel rather than an integrated approach. Therefore, the author highlights the need for a gender-responsive human rights based approach to climate change.B