abstract: 'Since the end of the 18th century, the burning and use of hydrocarbons

  has been the main source of energy used by mankind to achieve more

  developed societies, ignoring -at first - the high cost of natural

  resources involved. The use of this type of non-renewable energy has

  caused serious imbalances in the atmosphere and, in turn, a great impact

  on all the Earth''s ecosystems, since any type of alteration in the

  atmosphere causes, as a consequence, further transformations in the rest

  of The conclusions reached by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

  Change (IPCC) are the results of more than 30 years of research

  dedicated to the study of the climate system and its alterations. It is

  not, therefore, a diffuse and banal reflection to be downplayed, quite

  the contrary, as it recreates the present and future scenario to which

  legal science must respond. Science, as usual, often leads the way in

  international rule-making and standard-setting processes, and has been

  decisive on climate change: there is an urgent need for a drastic

  reduction in the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that human

  activities release into the atmosphere. Indeed, even if the Paris

  Agreement targets are met, resilience or adaptation and climate

  stability will be some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. There

  is now a clear scientific consensus on the unequivocal attribution of

  climate change to human activities. However, the impacts of climate

  variability are biased and the crosscutting issues that surround them,

  such as inequity and the vulnerability of multiple groups, such as women

  and children, are often displaced in the face of the severe damage

  already being done to the Earth''s oceans, atmosphere, ice and biosphere,

  rapidly and pervasively. The greenhouse effect is an inherently

  discriminatory phenomenon because it affects systemically, unequally and

  disproportionately not only people belonging to a certain group, but

  also constitutes an emerging, progressive and increasingly frequent and

  intense damage to societies and nations that have not reached their

  maximum levels of development, or that lack the measures or the

  technology to adapt to climate variability. The purpose of this article

  is twofold. On the one hand, it aims to identify the direct consequences

  of anthropogenic global warming on women and children, interweaving the

  scientific basis with legal science, which will allow us to

  contextualize the current state of the situation in an objective manner;

  on the other hand, it aims to define the position of the international

  community on both issues, from a critical point of view, a human

  rights-based approach, and with a special reference to the European

  jurisdictional progress, which could contribute to enhance the

  international climate cooperation. This also includes legal proposals

  based on the principles of equal treatment and opportunities between

  women and men, and intergenerational equity, the empowerment of citizens

  to receive quality environmental education, the participation and

  integration of both women and new generations in political decisions on

  issues that affect them, and their inclusion in the discussion and

  analysis of the impact of the climate emergency based on scientific

  knowledge. This research is based on the axis of different theoretical

  frameworks, and seeks both to establish connections between different

  areas of knowledge and to provide an international legal response to the

  problem of global warming for women and children through the analysis of

  international law and its implementation.

  In addition, this study is based on the principle of scientific evidence

  that underpins the work of the IPCC and, more specifically, will build

  on the efforts of Working Group II (WGII) of the Sixth Assessment Report

  (AR6) on impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation. In the international

  legal sphere, this paper aims to link two areas of international law as

  major references: international human rights law and the legal framework

  regulating climate change in the international forum. With regard to the

  structure of this article, we will find an introduction to the state of

  the question, followed by the theoretical-methodological aspects that

  are intertwined in this research: the interweaving of postcolonial

  feminist theory, scientific knowledge and legal argumentation. The

  second section of this study aims to contextualize the impacts of

  climate change on ecosystems and the most vulnerable groups, with

  references to the contributions of Working Groups I and II of the IPCC

  Sixth Assessment Report and other scientific studies that support the

  position of the vulnerability of women and children to the adverse

  effects of climate change. Within the second section, the IPCC has

  concluded that countries are already experiencing increasing impacts

  such as biodiversity loss, extreme weather events, land degradation,

  desertification and deforestation, sand and dust storms, persistent

  drought, sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean acidification and

  mountain glacier retreat, causing severe disruption to societies,

  economies, employment, agricultural, industrial and commercial systems,

  global trade, supply chains and travel. It has also reported thata there

  has been a devastating impact on sustainable development, including

  poverty eradication and livelihoods, threatening food security and

  nutrition and water accessibility. Furthermore, a sub-section has been

  created that will detail some of the impacts of climate change

  specifically on women and children. In this sense, it is evident that

  women''s reproductive rights are affected, there is an increase in

  vector-borne diseases with discriminatory tendencies based on gender,

  the manifestation of socio-economic inequalities linked to climate

  change, marginalisation, and the lack of capacity of children to adapt

  to climate change. The third section is devoted to providing a legal

  overview of the doctrine''s position on the matter and the cases

  currently being heard in some courts where the plaintiffs are women and

  minors. This section highlights the impossibility of ignoring both the

  feminist approach and the intergenerational equity approach. It is also

  pointed out that in the elaboration of climate policies, it is not

  enough to draw up a list of insufficient and empty climate policies to

  comply with international commitments, since when it comes to demanding

  the jurisdictional protection of human rights in the context of the

  climate crisis, there are a series of complications rooted in the

  evidentiary capacity that governs any judicial procedure. The

  conclusions section contains both a synthesis of the different sections

  of this article, as well as a series of legally and socially viable

  proposals that contribute to the knowledge of climate change, its

  different impacts, policies for prevention and adaptation to the risks

  of extreme meteorological phenomena and, if necessary, keys that

  reinforce the path towards climate litigation.'
affiliation: 'Zambrano, K (Corresponding Author), Univ Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

  Zambrano, Karla, Univ Valencia, Valencia, Spain.'
author: Zambrano, Karla
author-email: karla.zambrano@uv.es
author_list:
- family: Zambrano
  given: Karla
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.15366/relacionesinternacionales2023.53.002
files: []
issn: 1699-3950
journal: RELACIONES INTERNACIONALES-MADRID
keywords: 'Human rights; women''s rights; climate change; feminism; children''s

  rights'
language: English
month: JUN-SEP
number: '53'
number-of-cited-references: '38'
pages: 31-48
papis_id: e8268ee18fd7a4006f2046ee295e3e60
ref: Zambrano2023climatecrisis
times-cited: '0'
title: 'Climate crisis, women and children: between vulnerability and the urgent protection
  of their rights. Glimpses from the European continent'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:001026444500003
usage-count-last-180-days: '3'
usage-count-since-2013: '3'
web-of-science-categories: International Relations
year: '2023'