• Energy Research

ABSTRACT. Climate action is not advancing quickly enough to prevent catastrophic harm. Understanding why might require looking at existing leadership structures and the inequitable gender representation therein. Critically examining dominant power structures could pave the way toward more comprehensive, innovative, and expedient environmental solutions—and we argue that elevating women’s climate leadership is key to safeguarding planetary health. Women have historically been left out of climate science and governance leadership. Women are disproportionately impacted by the health effects of climate change, particularly in Indigenous and low- and middle-income settings. Therefore, our call for women’s climate leadership is both an issue of justice and a matter of effectiveness, given evidence that inclusive leadership rooted in gender justice leads to more equitable outcomes. Here, we present evidence for why gender equity in climate leadership matters along with considerations for how to attain it across sectors and stakeholders.

Introduction: Women, especially those living in low-and-middle-income countries experience increased exposure to and impacts of environmental threats. Peru is especially susceptible, with high levels of pollutants associated with extractive industries, and climatic-related disasters exacerbated by climate change. International policies and movements are increasingly calling for a gendered approach to environmental health. We aimed to understand the current Peruvian research, advocacy, and policy landscape at the environment-gender-health nexus. Methods: We held 18 in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants from the Peruvian Government, academia, and non-governmental organizations to explore how a gender-sensitive approach and interdisciplinary environmental health collaborations are delivered. We used thematic analysis to compare gender approaches, priorities, and barriers/facilitators to delivering projects within this nexus. Results: We remotely interviewed 6 representatives of each sector between July 2020 and March 2021. Interviewees mentioned the detrimental role of weak institutions, multilevel corruption, and the lack of interdisciplinarity and intersectorality across environmental health programs and research. They described several barriers to successful collaboration across organizations and sectors, including funding scandals related to extractive economies, high staff turnover impairing long-term program implementation, and machismo culture in organizations and communities. Women's empowerment was described as important for successful program delivery, especially in female-led associations. Some interviewees emphasized the invisibilization of vulnerable groups, such as girls, teenagers, pregnant women, victims of gender-based violence, and LGBTQI+ people. Conclusions: These qualitative findings highlight the multiple and inter-related contextual issues faced by environmentally threatened communities in Peru, and how macrostructural barriers contribute to a paucity of sustainable, gender-oriented, environmental health projects.

Il existe une lacune importante dans les informations régionales sur le changement climatique et la santé, ce qui limite le développement de politiques climatiques fondées sur la science dans les pays d'Amérique du Sud. Cette étude vise à identifier les principales lacunes de la littérature scientifique existante sur les impacts, l'exposition et les vulnérabilités du changement climatique sur la santé de la population. Une revue de cadrage a été réalisée guidée par quatre sous-questions axées sur les impacts du changement climatique sur la santé physique et mentale, l'exposition et les facteurs de vulnérabilité de la population aux aléas climatiques. Les principaux résultats ont montré que les impacts physiques comprenaient principalement les maladies infectieuses, tandis que les impacts sur la santé mentale comprenaient les traumatismes, la dépression et l'anxiété. Les preuves de l'exposition de la population aux risques climatiques sont limitées et les déterminants sociaux de la santé et les facteurs individuels ont été identifiés comme des facteurs de vulnérabilité. Dans l'ensemble, les preuves de l'intersection entre le changement climatique et la santé sont limitées en Amérique du Sud et ont été générées en silos, avec des recherches transdisciplinaires limitées. Des informations plus formelles et systématiques devraient être générées pour éclairer les politiques publiques. Aucune. Existe una brecha importante en la información regional sobre el cambio climático y la salud, lo que limita el desarrollo de políticas climáticas basadas en la ciencia en los países de América del Sur. Este estudio tiene como objetivo identificar las principales lagunas en la literatura científica existente sobre los impactos, la exposición y las vulnerabilidades del cambio climático en la salud de la población. Se realizó una revisión del alcance guiada por cuatro subpreguntas centradas en los impactos del cambio climático en la salud física y mental, la exposición y los factores de vulnerabilidad de la población a los peligros climáticos. Los principales hallazgos mostraron que los impactos físicos incluían principalmente enfermedades infecciosas, mientras que los impactos en la salud mental incluían trauma, depresión y ansiedad. La evidencia sobre la exposición de la población a los peligros climáticos es limitada, y los determinantes sociales de la salud y los factores individuales se identificaron como factores de vulnerabilidad. En general, la evidencia sobre la intersección entre el cambio climático y la salud es limitada en América del Sur y se ha generado en silos, con una investigación transdisciplinaria limitada. Se debe generar información más formal y sistemática para informar las políticas públicas. Ninguna. There is an important gap in regional information on climate change and health, limiting the development of science-based climate policies in South American countries. This study aims to identify the main gaps in the existing scientific literature on the impacts, exposure, and vulnerabilities of climate change on population health. A scoping review was performed guided by four sub-questions focused on the impacts of climate change on physical and mental health, exposure and vulnerability factors of population to climate hazards. The main findings showed that physical impacts mainly included infectious diseases, while mental health impacts included trauma, depression, and anxiety. Evidence on population exposure to climate hazards is limited, and social determinants of health and individual factors were identified as vulnerability factors. Overall, evidence on the intersection between climate change and health is limited in South America and has been generated in silos, with limited transdisciplinary research. More formal and systematic information should be generated to inform public policy.None. هناك فجوة مهمة في المعلومات الإقليمية حول تغير المناخ والصحة، مما يحد من تطوير السياسات المناخية القائمة على العلم في بلدان أمريكا الجنوبية. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تحديد الثغرات الرئيسية في الأدبيات العلمية الحالية حول آثار تغير المناخ والتعرض له ومواطن الضعف فيه على صحة السكان. تم إجراء مراجعة تحديد النطاق مسترشدة بأربعة أسئلة فرعية ركزت على آثار تغير المناخ على الصحة البدنية والعقلية والتعرض وعوامل ضعف السكان تجاه مخاطر المناخ. أظهرت النتائج الرئيسية أن التأثيرات الجسدية شملت بشكل أساسي الأمراض المعدية، بينما شملت تأثيرات الصحة العقلية الصدمة والاكتئاب والقلق. الأدلة على تعرض السكان لمخاطر المناخ محدودة، وتم تحديد المحددات الاجتماعية للصحة والعوامل الفردية كعوامل ضعف. بشكل عام، فإن الأدلة على التقاطع بين تغير المناخ والصحة محدودة في أمريكا الجنوبية وقد تم إنشاؤها في صوامع، مع أبحاث محدودة متعددة التخصصات. يجب توليد معلومات أكثر رسمية ومنهجية لإبلاغ السياسة العامة. لا شيء.

Abstract Climate change has already impacted the health and wellbeing of ∼5 billion people globally. However, the potential influence of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies on mental health and wellbeing outcomes in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) remains insufficiently understood. We aimed to determine the effect of these strategies on mental health and wellbeing outcomes among LMIC beneficiaries. We carried out a systematic review to identify intervention and case studies published from 2013 to 2022, searching OVID Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Global Health, Cochrane Library, GreenFile, Web of Science, and a subset of studies from the ‘Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative’ database. We included controlled, quasi-experimental, pilot, and focussed case studies reporting mental health or wellbeing outcomes assessments of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. We categorised studies by design, geographic region, target population, setting, environmental hazard, strategy type and primary outcomes. PROSPERO registry: CRD42021262711. A total of 9532 studies were initially retrieved, and 15 studies involving 12 255 participants met the inclusion criteria. Among these, twelve studies described evidence from single-adaptation strategies in nine LMICs, while three reported mitigation programmes. Only two randomised evaluations assessed common mental disorders such as depression, trauma or anxiety using validated scales. Most studies evaluated broader wellbeing at the community and individual levels. Nine studies (53.3%) reported significant beneficial changes in mental health or wellbeing outcomes among beneficiaries, while six (46.7%) obtained mixed results linked to local and sociocultural factors. The interventions ‘practical significance and overall impact remained unclear due to the heterogeneous reporting in program effectiveness, gaps in effect size assessments or qualitative insights. Our review highlights the scarcity and limited nature of the current evidence, underscoring the need for further equitable research. The ongoing global climate and mental health crises press us to fully understand and address these strategies’ psychosocial impacts and translate these findings into effective policy and transdisciplinary action as an opportunity to prevent and ameliorate significant, long-term problems in the population’s mental health and wellbeing.