{
  "id": 19675600,
  "title": "Climate Crisis Is a Crisis of Power: Why Governments Must Confront the Systems Exploiting Women and the Earth at COP31",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/climate-crisis-is-a-crisis-of-power-why-governments-must-confront-the",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T15:43:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KBC",
    "slug": "kbc",
    "url": "https://www.kbc.co.ke/climate-crisis-is-a-crisis-of-power-why-governments-must-confront-the-systems-exploiting-women-and-the-earth-at-cop31/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The climate crisis is more than just an environmental issue; it is fundamentally a crisis of power. At the upcoming COP31 conference in Antalya, Türkiye, world leaders must confront the systems that exploit women and the Earth. Governments must move beyond merely discussing financial commitments and emission targets; they must address the systems that sustain an economy built on inequality and concentration of power.\n\nFor millions of women in Africa and the Global South, climate change translates directly into the loss of farmland, dwindling water sources, and declining food production. Approximately 1.5 billion women and girls live in climate hotspots, meaning they experience the brunt of climate shocks, including economic losses, food insecurity, and livelihood disruptions. By 2050, up to 185 million additional women and girls could face hunger due to intensified climate impacts.\n\nOne of the biggest failures of current climate policy is its disregard for care as essential economic and climate infrastructure. As ecosystems deteriorate, women bear an increased burden of unpaid labour. Collecting water, securing food, and caring for family members become more time-consuming tasks, which could worsen as climate pressures worsen. However, women’s vital knowledge, labor, and leadership in local food systems, biodiversity protection, and community adaptation are often overlooked in policy discussions.\n\nThe transition to a green economy must not replicate the injustices of the fossil-fuel era. Instead, it should transform power dynamics and redistribute wealth. Across Africa, the demand for critical minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, is creating new land, water, and community livelihood pressures. Women are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of extractive projects, including displacement, livelihood losses, and environmental degradation.\n\nTo truly transform the economy, investment must be made in care infrastructure, social protection, skills development, and inclusive employment opportunities. By doing so, women could potentially access approximately 68 million of the 104 million new jobs expected in green sectors by 2035. However, without intentional interventions, their participation risks remaining marginal.\n\nClimate finance should prioritize repair and justice over perpetuating dependency. Currently, almost 70% of climate finance reaching developing countries is provided as loans, which can further burden populations already struggling with debt and inadequate public services. Instead, Africa needs access to grant-based climate finance that acknowledges historical responsibility and prioritizes adaptation, loss, and damage, locally led solutions, and ecological restoration. Crucially, resources must be directed toward grassroots women’s organizations, feminist movements, Indigenous communities, and local initiatives that are already implementing practical climate change responses. These actors possess the knowledge, organizational skills, and decision-making capabilities needed to lead effective climate action.",
  "summary": "The climate crisis is often presented as an environmental problem requiring technological solutions, financial commitments and international cooperation. But this framing overlooks a fundamental truth: the climate crisis is also a crisis of power. It is rooted in an economic and political system that treats nature as an endless resource for exploitation and women’s labour […] The post Climate…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}