The Role of Women in Mitigating Climate Change

• Admin

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues facing the world today. Its effects can be seen in many forms, including floods, rising temperatures, droughts, unpredictable weather, and declining environmental quality. In the long term, climate change can also weaken a country’s resilience in food security, health, education, economy, and public safety.

In this situation, women are often among the groups most affected by climate change. They experience vulnerability not only physically, but also socially, economically, and psychologically. In many communities, women are responsible for managing food, water, household needs, children’s care, and family health. When climate change disrupts the environment, women often carry a heavier burden in keeping the family and community alive.

For this reason, women should not be seen only as victims of climate change. They are also important actors in climate mitigation and environmental protection. Their role in households, communities, education, and policy-making can become a powerful force for building ecological awareness and sustainable living. As Nilam Putri Andriani and Rizky Dwi Sanjaya explain in their study “The Role of Women in the Implementation of COP26,” women’s participation in decision-making can strengthen sustainability and ecological balance because women bring concrete experiences and social sensitivity into environmental policy (Andriani and Sanjaya, 2022).

Climate Change and the Need for Mitigation

Climate-related disasters often appear slowly before becoming visible crises. People may not immediately realize the danger of rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, or environmental degradation. However, when floods, crop failures, food shortages, or health problems occur, the impact becomes difficult to ignore.

This is why climate change mitigation must begin before disasters become more severe. Mitigation can start from simple individual actions and then expand into community and public policy. These efforts include educating society about greenhouse gas emissions, reducing waste, planting trees, protecting water resources, using energy wisely, and strengthening disaster preparedness.

Indonesia’s disaster management framework, especially Law No. 24 of 2007 on Disaster Management and Government Regulation No. 21 of 2008 on the Implementation of Disaster Management, emphasizes the importance of prevention, risk reduction, public awareness, and preparedness. In practice, disaster mitigation includes providing information and maps of disaster-prone areas, increasing public awareness, teaching people what to do and what to avoid during disasters, and managing vulnerable areas more carefully.

This kind of information is very important. When people understand the risks around them, they are better prepared to respond. When communities know how to protect themselves, the impact of disaster can be reduced. In this process, women’s involvement becomes essential because women are often the first educators within the family and the closest managers of daily household life.

Why Women Matter in Climate Action

Women’s involvement in maintaining ecological balance is undeniable. There are several reasons for this. First, women are closely connected to the continuity of life. Through pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, and family care, women often experience directly how environmental conditions affect human survival. Clean water, nutritious food, safe housing, and healthy air are not abstract environmental issues for women; they are daily needs.

Second, women’s role within the household makes them key agents in shaping habits. Many basic environmental practices begin at home: sorting waste, managing food, saving water, reducing plastic use, choosing household products, and teaching children to care for nature. Small habits, when practiced consistently, can create larger cultural change.

Third, women often think in practical and concrete ways because of their daily responsibilities. They are usually the ones who calculate household needs, manage food supplies, prepare meals, care for children, and respond to family health problems. This experience makes women sensitive to environmental changes that affect everyday life.

Fourth, women’s contribution to reducing household waste can have a significant impact. Household waste is one of the major contributors to environmental pollution. When food waste and organic waste accumulate in landfills, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Therefore, women’s role in managing household consumption and waste is directly connected to climate change mitigation.

M. Mustangin, in “Climate Change and Actions to Address Its Impacts: A Review of the Role of Women in Pagerwangi Village,” published in Journal of Education and Community Empowerment 4, no. 1 (2017), shows that women can take meaningful roles in responding to climate change through community-based action, environmental education, and daily practices that support ecological sustainability.

Women’s Survival Strategies

Climate change also forces many women to develop survival strategies. This is especially visible in coastal communities, farming communities, and low-income households. When weather patterns change, livelihoods are affected. Fishermen may catch fewer fish. Farmers may face crop failure. Families may lose stable income. In many cases, women must find additional ways to support household survival.

Ade Latifa and Fitranita, in “Women’s Survival Strategies in Coping with the Impacts of Climate Change,” published in Indonesian Journal of Population 8, no. 1 (2013), discuss how women adapt when climate change affects family livelihoods. In fishing communities, for example, declining fish catches may reduce household income. As managers of household expenses, women often respond by seeking additional work, such as processing fish, cleaning fish, drying fish, or selling products in local markets.

These activities show that women are not passive in the face of climate change. They are adaptive, creative, and resilient. They find ways to keep their families alive even when environmental conditions become uncertain. However, women’s survival strategies should not be romanticized. Their resilience must be supported by fair policies, access to education, financial support, training, and participation in decision-making.

Women should not only be asked to endure the impacts of climate change. They must also be given space to shape the solutions.

Climate Action from the Household

Women can contribute to climate change mitigation through many practical actions beginning from the home. These actions may seem small, but when practiced by many families, they can create significant environmental impact.

One important step is waste management. Household waste should be sorted according to type, such as organic waste, recyclable waste, and non-recyclable waste. When waste is separated properly, it becomes easier for sanitation workers and waste management systems to process it. Organic waste can be turned into compost, while recyclable materials can be reused or processed again.

Another important step is reducing plastic use. Plastic is one of the most common materials used in households. It is practical, cheap, and easy to find. However, excessive plastic use damages the environment because plastic takes a very long time to decompose. Women can help reduce plastic waste by using reusable shopping bags, replacing single-use plastic containers, choosing durable household items, and encouraging family members to reduce unnecessary packaging.

Women can also participate in environmental greening. This can be done by planting trees, growing vegetables, maintaining household gardens, or joining local community greening programs. Greening activities not only improve air quality but also create food sources, reduce heat, and strengthen community awareness about the environment.

Food waste control is another important area. As the main managers of food supplies in many households, women can help reduce waste by planning meals, buying ingredients according to need, storing food properly, and reusing leftovers creatively. This is important because food waste contributes to landfill accumulation and methane emissions. Suriani Nur and her co-authors, in “The Role of Women in Climate Change Disaster Mitigation Efforts,” published in An-Nisa 17, no. 1 (2024), emphasize that women’s daily practices can become part of broader disaster mitigation efforts when they are connected to environmental awareness.

Energy use is also important. Many household appliances depend on electricity, and electricity production often still relies on fossil fuels. Women can contribute by encouraging energy-saving habits at home, such as turning off unused lights, reducing unnecessary use of air conditioning, choosing energy-efficient appliances, and using electronic devices wisely. These simple actions help reduce household emissions.

Women, Ecological Balance, and Gender Justice

The discussion about women and climate change is not only about the environment. It is also about justice. Climate change affects people differently. Those with fewer resources are often more vulnerable. Women, especially those living in poverty, rural areas, coastal regions, or disaster-prone areas, often face greater risks because they have limited access to land, education, technology, capital, and policy-making spaces.

Cindy Silviana Br. Sihotang, in Women in the Context of the Climate Crisis from the Perspectives of Ecological Balance and Gender Justice, argues that climate crisis must be understood through both ecological balance and gender justice. This perspective is important because environmental damage and gender inequality often reinforce each other. When women are excluded from decision-making, climate policies may fail to address their real needs and experiences.

Therefore, women’s participation in environmental policy is crucial. Women understand many practical problems at the household and community levels. They know how water scarcity affects families. They know how food prices affect nutrition. They know how disasters affect children, the elderly, and vulnerable groups. Their voices can make climate policies more humane, realistic, and inclusive.

Climate mitigation will be stronger when women are involved not only as implementers, but also as planners, educators, leaders, and decision-makers.

Toward a More Sustainable Future

Climate change is a global problem, but its solutions can begin from everyday life. Women play an important role in this process because they are deeply involved in household management, community care, food systems, education, and social resilience. Their contributions may begin with waste sorting, reducing plastic, controlling food waste, planting trees, and saving energy. But beyond that, women also contribute through survival strategies, community leadership, and policy advocacy.

Women’s role in mitigating climate change should be recognized, strengthened, and supported. They need access to environmental education, disaster training, economic resources, technology, and decision-making spaces. Climate action will not be complete if women’s experiences and voices are ignored.

In the end, protecting the environment is not only a technical task. It is a moral responsibility. Human beings must care for the earth because the earth sustains life. Women, with their close connection to family, community, and daily survival, have an important role in nurturing this responsibility.

When women are empowered, climate mitigation becomes more inclusive. When women are involved, environmental policies become more sensitive to real human needs. And when households, communities, and governments work together, the hope for a more sustainable future becomes stronger.

By Ibnatul Mardhiyah, Student of the Ulama Cadre Education Program of Grand Mosque Istiqlal.