Gender, Environment, and Development Research Initiative for Security and Empowerment
The Review, Issue 1: Navigating the Intersection of Gender, Climate, and Security:
A Call to Action for Stakeholders
As we confront the multifaceted challenges of the 21st century, the interplay between gender, climate change, and security has emerged as a critical area of concern. The Global Climate Security (GCS) Policy Report underscores the urgency of addressing these intertwined issues, offering a comprehensive framework for understanding their connections and implications. This reflective piece aims to explore these themes and provide recommendations for future research and funding priorities, targeting researchers, policymakers, funders, advocacy groups, and philanthropic organizations working on gender and climate, gender and energy transitions, and just transitions.
Climate Change: A Threat Multiplier
Climate change acts as a "threat multiplier," exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and creating new risks for communities worldwide. Its impacts, including loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, resource competition, human displacement, and political and economic instability, are particularly severe in fragile and conflict-affected regions. These areas often lack effective governance, which compounds the adverse effects of climate change and can escalate tensions, potentially leading to violence. This article emphasizes that the combined pressures of climate change and socio-political and economic stresses undermine development gains and disrupt fragile peace processes. Violent conflict and political instability further reduce communities' resilience, making them less equipped to cope with climate change effects. This vicious cycle necessitates urgent and coordinated action to build resilience and foster inclusive peace.
Download and read the full article here - Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier
The Review, Issue 2: Addressing the Triple Threats with AI: Economic Crises, Climate Change, and Civil Conflict
Introduction
Macroeconomic policies, climate change, and violent conflicts are interlinked. Poorly designed policies can exacerbate vulnerabilities, leading to social unrest, especially where food insecurity is prevalent. AI offers possibilities for mitigating these issues and fostering economic stability and security. Macroeconomic policies often overlook the informal economy, which is significant in many regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. AI can analyze data from informal sectors to inform more inclusive economic policies. The removal of subsidies can increase food prices and worsen food insecurity. AI-driven models can predict policy impacts on food prices, helping to stabilize markets and protect vulnerable populations. Climate change intensifies resource scarcity and civil unrest. AI enhances forecasting and early warning systems, allowing timely interventions to minimize damage and resource scarcity. Climate change impacts agriculture, reducing yields and increasing food prices. AI-powered precision agriculture can optimize resource use and improve crop yields, aiding farmers' resilience. The informal sector is often excluded from social protection. AI can identify vulnerable populations more accurately, enabling timely support and reducing social unrest. AI-driven models can predict social unrest and violence, allowing for timely interventions. AI tools can support resource management, reducing competition and conflict over scarce resources.
Conclusion
AI tools can help individuals and communities adapt to economic and environmental shocks, promoting stability and development. By addressing the linkages between macroeconomic policies, climate change, and conflicts, we can foster resilient and equitable societies.
Download and read the full article here - Addressing the Triple Threats with AI
The Review, Issue 3: How Tax Policy Shapes Climate Resilience in Developing Countries – A path to fairer solutions
Tax policies play a critical role in addressing the dual challenges of climate change and economic inequality in developing countries. These nations face the pressing need to fund climate resilience efforts while avoiding disproportionate burdens on their most vulnerable populations. Environmental taxes, such as those on carbon, can inadvertently increase living costs for low-income individuals, pushing them deeper into poverty. Examples like Nigeria's 2012 fuel tax and Mexico's 2014 carbon tax illustrate the regressive nature of these policies, as they affect poor populations the most. To mitigate these impacts, some countries, like India, have implemented targeted cash transfers and subsidies to support low-income households. However, narrow tax bases and tax evasion by wealthy individuals and corporations limit government revenues, hindering climate action.
A progressive tax system, where higher-income groups and large corporations pay their fair share, could alleviate this issue. By increasing taxes on luxury goods and financial transactions while reducing taxes on essentials, governments can reduce the pressure on low-income populations. Additionally, international cooperation and advocacy are crucial to promote equitable tax policies and ensure sustainable funding for climate resilience in developing countries.
The Review, Issue 4: Climate Adaptation as an Infrastructural Issue in African Cities: A Case for Gender Sensitive Infrastructure.
The impact of climate change in African cities, such as Accra and Lagos, is multifaceted, combining environmental vulnerabilities, economic stress, and infrastructural challenges. However, the effects are not felt equally across populations, with women disproportionately affected due to their marginalized status and traditional gender roles. The article examines how climate change and infrastructural failures, such as flooding and poor waste management, amplify the vulnerabilities of women in urban settings. For instance, in Lagos and Accra, outdated drainage systems and inadequate waste management often lead to severe flooding, particularly in low-income communities. Women, primarily responsible for household water management, sanitation, and caregiving, bear the brunt of these infrastructural shortcomings, as they must navigate hazardous conditions, manage household tasks under extreme circumstances, and care for sick family members. This burden limits their economic opportunities and perpetuates poverty cycles. The article argues that gender-sensitive urban planning is essential for building climate-resilient African cities, as it addresses women's specific vulnerabilities during climate-induced crises.
The Review, Issue 5: Advancing Women's Economic Empowerment in Politically Unstable Contexts
Climate change and environmental security challenges are compounding the existing governance and economic issues across Nigeria, especially in the northern, mid-western, south-eastern, and south-western regions. These interconnected challenges worsen poverty, disrupt livelihoods, and heighten competition for natural resources, which directly impact women’s economic empowerment and the country's overall stability. In Northern Nigeria, desertification and resource conflicts are particularly severe. The Sahel region, covering northern Nigeria, faces rising temperatures, desert encroachment, and erratic rainfall, leading to reduced agricultural productivity. As agriculture is the primary livelihood for many, dwindling arable land has sparked competition over land and water rights, resulting in violent clashes, particularly between farmers and pastoralists. Women in this region bear the brunt of these environmental stressors, as they are deeply involved in subsistence farming and small-scale agriculture. With farmland becoming less productive and water sources depleting, their ability to sustain their families diminishes. Additionally, women are often responsible for fetching water and fuelwood tasks that grow increasingly challenging as resources become scarcer, which not only reduces their economic opportunities but also increases their vulnerability to gender-based violence during resource-related conflicts.
The Review, Issue 6: Women’s Economic Empowerment As A Governance Strategy - The Nigerian Case
The relationship between women's economic empowerment and governance is becoming increasingly evident, especially in politically unstable contexts like Nigeria. Governance in Nigeria has been weakened by persistent instability, poverty, and civil conflict, with women's economic marginalization at the core of this fragility. Economic exclusion of women perpetuates poverty and undermines national stability, exacerbating social grievances that drive instability. Studies show that countries with significant gender-based economic inequality, like Nigeria, are more likely to experience internal conflict and governance challenges. Nigerian women, largely confined to the informal economy with limited access to education, employment, and financial services, face significant barriers to economic participation. Research highlights that nations with low female workforce participation (less than 10%) are 30 times more likely to experience conflict compared to those where 40% of women are employed. This underscores the need for economic inclusion to foster stability. Gender equality in economic participation is therefore not only a matter of social justice but a crucial governance strategy for stabilizing fragile states like Nigeria.