Gender, Peace, and Climate Change: Reviewing the WPS Agenda in an Era of Environmental Insecurity

Alonna Despain, UNC Chapel Hill (United States)

2025 marks 25 years since the landmark Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) was passed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). It has been well documented by academics and civil society researchers that climate change is a significant human security concern with deeply gendered impacts, yet exceedingly little has been written at the intersection of climate, environment, and WPS. This poster offers an assessment and review of how climate change has been considered at the UN as part of the WPS agenda. Furthermore, this poster offers an updated analysis of Smith’s (2020) SIPRI Insight Paper, which explored how 80 states did or did not integrate climate change into their WPS National Action Plans (NAPs), by investigating language on climate change, climate security, and environmental problems in 108 state NAPs. Finally, the poster considers what the future of the environment-security nexus in the WPS agenda may look like.