Climate and Care Work: Integrated Solutions for Intersecting Crises

This policy brief, developed by The Asia Foundation in coordination with the Climate and Care Initiative, was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada. It builds on a growing body of research that explores the connections between climate change, environmental degradation, care work, and the resulting gender and social inequalities.

Both caring for people and caring for the planet are fundamental to human survival, yet both are systematically exploited for short-term economic gains. The consequences of this exploitation include worsening climate impacts and deepening social disparities, particularly affecting women and marginalized communities.

The climate crisis and the crisis of care are deeply interconnected, as climate change increases the demand for care work while also weakening already fragile care infrastructures. Despite this, global climate adaptation and mitigation efforts have largely overlooked the critical role of care in fostering community resilience and ecosystem sustainability. Moreover, many climate solutions unintentionally reinforce inequalities in care labor, disproportionately affecting women, girls, and marginalized populations in low- and middle-income countries. Addressing these challenges requires a holistic and intersectional approach, recognizing that policies tackling climate change must also consider the redistribution of care labor and the restructuring of economic and social systems to support quality care. Integrating care work into climate policy is essential to ensuring a just and sustainable future for all.

CSW Official Side Event – Accelerating progress on the BPfA on women and the environment through a care centered just transition

As part of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), we invite you to join our official side event. Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), this session will explore the intersection of the climate and care crises, emphasizing why a care-centered just transition is essential to accelerate progress on gender equality and sustainability.

The discussion will feature findings from the Climate & Care Initiative, including research supported by Canada’s IDRC, as well as insights from ecofeminist and grassroots organizations from the Global South. Policymakers will also engage in a dialogue on how to ensure that COP30 in Brazil advances the BPfA commitments with a climate and gender justice perspective.

Find more about the event in the concept note.

Confirm your attendance here: https://forms.gle/wRddfZAS4JwLMi2m7

Please note that the Initiative is not able to provide funding for any travel costs to the conference.

Repensando conexiones: una aproximación interseccional entre cuidados y clima

Las intersecciones entre el cambio climático y el trabajo de cuidado no son meramente coincidentes, sino que están intrínsecamente ligadas a cuestiones de igualdad de género, sostenibilidad económica y justicia social. Estos nexos, si bien resaltan las vulnerabilidades, abre también oportunidades para intervenciones políticas innovadoras que puedan abordar simultáneamente el cambio climático y mejorar la visibilidad y valoración del trabajo de cuidado. Este marco conceptual busca, a través de un enfoque ne nexo, ampliar los límites de los marcos tradicionales de políticas climáticas y de género para incorporar enfoques más holísticos e integradores. Dichos enfoques reconocen la doble necesidad de mitigar el impacto climático y reestructurar la economía del cuidado para que sea más equitativa y de mayor apoyo para quienes están en su núcleo, principalmente mujeres y niñas en comunidades marginadas. Con ello, se pretende catalizar un cambio hacia políticas que no solo respondan al cambio climático, sino que también contribuyan a crear sistemas de cuidado sólidos que sustenten el bienestar social y ecológico.