RIYADH: The global climate change movement has gained further urgency following a UN report warning that 158.3 million women and girls could face poverty by 2050 if current trajectories continue.
The “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2023” report, published by UN Women, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to promote gender equality.
The study underscores that climate change will worsen women’s vulnerability to poverty and hunger, highlighting the need to further invest in sustainable development goals.
“Investments in a comprehensive SDG stimulus package would help to mitigate this effect, reducing the number of women falling into extreme poverty from 158.3 million to 43.3 million. But the impact will still be less than what could be achieved if the world abates climate change now before it gets exponentially worse,” the report stated.
The statement further highlighted an anticipated rise in food insecurity, projecting an increase affecting up to 236 million women and girls, in contrast to an additional 131 million men and boys.
“A recent review of national climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions, found that only 55 have specific climate adaptation measures referring to gender equality and only 23 recognize women as agents of change in accelerating progress on climate commitments,” it highlighted.
“Multi-sectoral plans and efforts to respond to climate change must prioritize women and girls most at risk,” the report added.
By 2050, it is projected that 70 percent of the global female population, approximately 3.3 billion women and girls, will inhabit urban areas.
Given the current trajectories, a concerning one-third, or about 1.05 billion women and girls, are expected to live in slums, informal settlements, or face inadequate housing conditions.
The report called for a collaborative approach to addressing the challenges of slums and slum-like settings, which require around $6 trillion of public and private investments.
“A lot more is also needed in the areas of conservation, disaster preparedness, adaptation and resilience, including expanding women’s access to quality health, education, economic opportunities and information,” the report stated.
