The summer of 2023 featured some of the hottest days ever recorded. Feminists should be alarmed. 

Climate change may not seem like a feminist issue on its face. A warming planet poses a cross-cutting and common threat. But the perception that climate impacts result in uniform harm produces partial solutions that neglect the world’s most vulnerable populations. This alone makes environmental justice a gender justice issue as well.

Nowhere is China’s critical mineral dominance greater than in rare earth supply chains. In 2022, the US government estimated that China controlled “nearly 60 percent of mined production, over 85 percent of processing capacity, and over 90 percent of permanent magnet production.”

China’s power sector makes up the lion’s share of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, but rising methane emissions from rice farming and livestock, nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers, and CO2 from food transport could all hinder China’s progress toward its 2060 carbon neutrality goal. Chinese policymakers could rein in agri-food emissions by modifying existing climate plans and policies. Climate-smart agriculture is not only a mitigation strategy, but also an adaptation strategy to intensifying extreme weather events like heatwaves and typhoons.

The global transition to low-carbon energy is spurring new momentum to produce and secure the mineral inputs necessary for renewable technologies. Yet meeting demand may prove difficult. From electric cars to wind turbines, essential renewable energy technologies often require more minerals than fossil fuel-powered infrastructure. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement could lead to a fourfold increase in mineral demand by 2040.

Water Security Concerns in Gaza

Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7^th led the Israeli government to cut off water supplies to the Gaza Strip with immediate effect. This has resulted in a clean water crisis that the UN warns is now a matter of life and death.

A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Organizing Regional Action on Climate Change, Health, and Environment

As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals looms, the World Health Organization has proposed a new regional framework that aims to build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems, improve the health sector’s access to climate funding, and build an evidence base for policymaking.