Climate and gender equality – Strengthening the protection of women’s rights in the face of climate disruption

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 16224 | 07 July 2025

Signatories:

Ms Aurora FLORIDIA, Italy, SOC ; Mr Alfredo ANTONIOZZI, Italy, ECPA ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Ms Magdalena BIEJAT, Poland, SOC ; Ms Cat ECCLES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Heike ENGELHARDT, Germany ; Ms Edite ESTRELA, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Ms Zita GURMAI, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Kristina IKIĆ BANIČEK, Croatia, SOC ; Ms Saskia KLUIT, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Bisera KOSTADINOVSKA-STOJCHEVSKA, North Macedonia, SOC ; Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Max LUCKS, Germany, SOC ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Wanda NOWICKA, Poland, SOC ; Ms Agnes Sirkka PRAMMER, Austria, SOC ; Ms Sandra REGOL, France, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Roberto SPERANZA, Italy, SOC ; Mr Georgios STAMATIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Liliana TANGUY, France, ALDE ; Ms Susanna VELA, Andorra, SOC ; Ms Sandra ZAMPA, Italy, SOC

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

The link between climate disruption and violations of fundamental rights is now widely recognised. Scientists are sounding the alarm on the increasing intensity of global warming in Europe, which, according to the United Nations, is the fastest-warming continent. The consequences for the population will be significant, particularly for women.

Women are among the first to be exposed to the impacts of climate change. In Switzerland, the group “Senior Women for Climate Protection”, demonstrated to the European Court of Human Rights that the heatwaves they face constitute a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5), which relates to the right to private and family life.

The impacts of climate disruption go far beyond that: they affect many other fundamental rights of women, in Europe and around the world. In several regions, women – especially those from rural, indigenous, or impoverished communities – are more vulnerable to natural disasters, food insecurity, resource scarcity, and forced displacement. They also have more limited access to protection mechanisms, decision-making processes and resilience-building tools. Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities and creates gender-differentiated impacts, threatening women’s rights to health, education, security, and participation in public life.

The Council of Europe has important tools at its disposal to guarantee the right to equality and women’s rights, including the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) (CETS No. 210) and the Court. However, it is necessary to assess the shortcomings and effectiveness of these tools in light of the upheavals to come.

Ahead of COP30, which will take place in Brazil, and in a context where climate litigation is multiplying around the world, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe must take up this issue. It has a crucial role to play in shedding light on the connections between climate disruption and women’s rights, and in ensuring that law-makers become central actors in preventing and combating fundamental rights violations linked to the climate crisis.