IWD2025 – Exploring the Gender, Climate Change, and Security Nexus within the Euro-Mediterranean Region

The International Women’s Day 2025 Webinar, co-organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), focused on the critical intersection of gender, climate change, and security in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The event served as a platform for discussing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women and the urgent need for gender-sensitive climate action in addressing regional security challenges. It also marked the launch of the second UfM-IEMed MedWE Policy Paper, Climate Crisis and Gender Equality: Emerging Security Risks in the Euro-Mediterranean Region.

The discussions underscored how climate change acts as a stress multiplier, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities, particularly for women in conflict and disaster- affected areas. Speakers emphasized that the impacts of climate-induced stresses must be understood in conjunction with other regional security concerns, such as displacement, resource scarcity, and fragile governance structures. As the region faces growing challenges, it is evident that an intersectional approach that addresses the overlapping dimensions of climate change, security, systemic inequalities, and socio-economic factors is crucial.

April 2025