Climate Justice and Women: Adaptation Strategies in the Global South and North

Abstract

Climate injustice underscores the ethical and social dimensions of climate change, highlighting how systemic inequalities exacerbate environmental harm. In the Global South, particularly in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, women face disastrous impacts due to systematic inequalities, socio-economic vulnerabilities, and women's exclusion from policy frameworks. This is a comparative analysis of climate adaptation strategies adopted by women in South Asia and women’s climate policy contribution in the Global North, specifically Sweden, Canada, and the European Union. This interpretive, qualitative research study employs the methodology of discourse analysis and an exploratory research technique. The theoretical framework analyzes feminist political ecology, which refers to how gender, power, and environmental issues intersect. The intersectionality theory critically highlights how overlapping systems of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and colonialism, interact to shape social inequalities. These two combined examine women’s participation in the climate adaptation strategies in both regions. It is an attempt to understand in what ways climate adaptation policies can become more gender-responsive and regionally inclusive, and how women in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh experience and respond to climate change differently compared to their counterparts in the Global North. The Global North VS South comparison reveals stark regional disparities in climate policies regarding women and underscores the importance of integrating gender-responsive adaptation into national and international climate agendas. The findings call for transformative policy interventions that recognize women not only as vulnerable populations but also as agents of change by recognizing their active roles in developing, implementing, and driving effective climate solutions.