In crises, who cares?

The authors contend that current climate contingency planning is "care-blind," ignoring the disproportionate burden on caregivers—primarily women and girls—during environmental crises. They highlight that G20 nations with the highest gender inequality in care responsibilities are often the most climate-vulnerable. The text calls for the G20 to include caregivers in high-level decision-making to address issues such as restricted mobility, lack of survival skills, and financial instability, noting that climate-driven disease outbreaks further increase care burdens.

• Climate-related disasters are projected to require humanitarian aid for more than 200 million people every year by 2050.
• Contingency planning for disasters frequently ignores the specific burdens faced by caregivers of children, the elderly, and people with disabilities or illnesses, a gap described as being "care-blind."
• There is a correlation between G20 countries with the highest levels of gender inequality regarding care duties and those facing the greatest risks from climate change.
• Caregivers, predominantly women and girls, face specific vulnerabilities during climate crises, including restricted mobility due to cultural norms, lack of survival skill information, and severe financial limitations that hinder recovery.
• Climate change increases the burden on caregivers by fueling epidemics and disease outbreaks, similar to the pressures seen during the COVID-19 pandemic where women managed health and childcare roles at the expense of their own health and economic opportunities.
• G20 countries face an estimated average annual loss of USD 218 billion due to high exposure to hazards, which impedes development gains.

APA

Del Duca, L., & Banfi, E. (2024). In crises, who cares? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/in-crises-who-cares/

Chicago

Del Duca, Laura, and Eleonora Banfi. In crises, who cares? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/in-crises-who-cares/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Del Duca |first1=Laura |last2=Banfi |first2=Eleonora |title=In crises, who cares? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=15 November 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/in-crises-who-cares/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{delduca2024crises, author = {Del Duca, Laura and Banfi, Eleonora}, title = {{In crises, who cares?}}, publisher = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/in-crises-who-cares/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }