Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Across much of the world, women do not have the same educational, economic and political opportunities as men. Many women suffer from violence and lack the autonomy to make crucial decisions about their welfare. The climate crisis and other environmental hazards are deepening this gender divide, disproportionately affecting women and girls.
Goal 5 and the environment
The climate crisis is not gender neutral – women and girls bear the brunt of the fallout. It is amplifying gender inequality and posing threats to both their lives and livelihoods. The sad truth is that women depend more on natural resources and yet have less access to and control over those assets.
Women already make a critical contribution to the well-being and sustainable development of their communities and help to preserve the planet’s ecosystems and biological diversity. By further empowering women, countries can supercharge conservation. They can also help communities to adapt to the climate crisis, especially in rural areas, where women have time-tested knowledge about water harvesting and storage, food preservation and rationing, and natural resource management.
UNEP’s work on Goal 5
Gender equality is central to UNEP’s vision of sustainable development. UNEP is helping to promote women’s participation in environmental conservation and improve women’s access to natural resources, a process that both empowers women and helps to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies
Jointly implemented by UN Women and the UN Environment Programme, this project aims to strengthen gender equality and human rights in climate change and disaster risk actions in the Asia and Pacific region.
Power Equality: Women’s entrepreneurship transforming Asia’s energy sector
This report captures the evidence and lessons that make the policy and business case for investing in women-led energy enterprises and supply chains.
Wadi El Ku Catchment Management Project
With support from the European Union, UNEP is helping farmers in Sudan’s North Darfur region better manage scarce supplies of water, helping them to adapt to climate change and reducing conflicts over natural resources. Many of those benefiting from the project are women.
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