Position statement: Climate change and environmental sustainability 

The current climate crisis significantly impacts human health, and some groups are more vulnerable to the impacts than others. Women, girls, and gender diverse people face particular and disproportionate risks of harm from the ongoing climate crisis, particularly their sexual and reproductive health. For example: 

• Natural disasters and extreme weather can undermine health systems and disrupt access to sexual and reproductive health services, which are often less accessible than other essential health services 
• Climate crises can disrupt supply chains and access to essential medicines and devices, including contraceptives and abortion medication
• Reduced access to safe water impacts health and wellbeing during pregnancy, and affects the provision of maternity services, menstrual management, and sexual health. For example, maintaining good hygiene during menstruation is more difficult if access to clean water is limited
• Increased gender-based violence, including sexual violence, during times of crisis is well-documented. Climate disasters can create both short- and long-term crises for communities, putting women, girls, and gender diverse people at higher risk of gender-based violence  

For women, girls, and gender diverse people, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights is central to enhancing capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability. At a fundamental level, people need reproductive autonomy to adapt, respond to and recover from the impacts of environmental damage and disruption due to climate events. They need to be able to manage their health to support overall wellbeing, and this includes sexual health. Groups experiencing multiple forms of inequity and discrimination, such as Māori and Pacific women and girls, are at greatest risk of sexual and reproductive harm during climate crises.  
  
Plans to enable communities adapt to climate change and efforts to build resilience must prioritise the needs of groups most vulnerable to harm, including women, girls, and gender diverse people. A gender lens must be used when developing strategies and solutions to environmental challenges to ensure inequities are not made worse. Managing and preparing for the current and future impacts of climate change, and promoting environmentally sustainable communities, requires representation from women, girls, and gender diverse people.   
  
Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa is working to raise awareness and advocate for the links between climate change, resilience, sustainability and SRHR. We design, promote, implement, and evaluate initiatives to improve SRHR using an equity lens, while building capacity and capability to meet the evolving needs of our clients and communities. We are also increasingly looking at ways that we can reduce waste and assess the environmental impact of current and new initiatives.  

• Climate crisis and the impact on sexual and reproductive health (IPPF video)
• The Link Between Climate Change and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (Women Deliver report - PDF)
• Taking Stock: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Climate Commitments (A global review from UNFPA - PDF)
• Women and Health: the key for sustainable development (The Lancet)