Resilience Hub: Regional Virtual Summit

Unpacking the Resilience and Care Nexus: Why is it important?

Emerging evidence suggests that climate change and environmental degradation increase and intensify women’s and girls’ unpaid care, domestic, and communal work due in part to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events and the reduced availability of natural resources such as food, fuel and water. Displacement and health impacts of climate change and environmental degradation also increase unpaid care work. Climate related disasters also reduce the supply of care services, as they disrupt infrastructure, transportation, and communication systems. Moreover, climate change and natural disasters exacerbate existing gender, economic and geopolitical inequalities and vulnerabilities in the care economy, as they more severely affect poor, rural, and marginalized groups. At the same time, women are leaders in climate action, many of their activities, such as composting, gardening, or caring for water and biodiversity, also imply community-centered care work which is also unpaid. Ironically, these increase time poverty. Care responsibilities curtail women’s participation in climate decision-making and limit opportunities for them to engage in green jobs fostered by the low-carbon transition. Investing in care systems can increase resilience to climate change.

Given the interdependence of the care and climate crises, it is increasingly evident that they need to be addressed together and that an integrated approach would accelerate progress on both fronts. A limited understanding and an incomplete knowledge base on the climate resilience and care connections diminishes the effectiveness of climate change adaptation strategies and neglects the opportunity to address inequality and the climate crisis at the same time.

Supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, the Climate and Care Initiative seeks to integrate the agendas of care and climate action, demonstrating their interconnections, and learning and supporting concrete practices, including those advanced by ecofeminist movements and grassroots organizations. The initiative is led by a Consortium coordinated by the AVINA Foundation, with Oxfam Canada and UNRISD, and in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Care.

This session will unpack the care and climate intersections to strengthen climate resilience through recognizing and addressing the unequal distribution of care work. The session will also discuss how to integrate care into climate resilience policy and projects; highlighting the importance of care as a climate resilience measure. It will also share information on a new catalytic fund that will finance grassroot organizations that are implementing initiatives addressing the climate & care nexus in Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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