"We stress the importance of including and recognizing the voices of women leaders as key actors within their communities," said Catalina Vargas, CARE's country director in Colombia, which borders Venezuela, in a statement to CG.
There's a whole lot going on around the world: This weekly brief from Climate, Gendered isn't intended to be exhaustive but rather your chance to spend just a few moments on a handful of items with the potential to disproportionately impact over half the global population — plus, the ideas that might make a difference.
Earlier this month, CG underscored the potential environmental impacts of the energy- and water-hungry data centers that enabled users to generate nonconsensual sexualized deepfakes with the Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence chatbot Grok. Since then, countries have taken action while Musk's AI company has announced changes to the chatbot. But broader changes may be in the mix, as communities appear increasingly concerned about the boom in data centers — or DCs — and their possible impacts on energy costs, land use, water supplies, and overall well-being. A recent review of public records by Heatmap News found that at least 25 data center projects planned in the United States were canceled in 2025 following outcry from residents, quadrupling the figure from 2024. The report revealed additional figures that could inform collective efforts against unbridled DC development.
According to Gizmodo's coverage of the research, "About 40% of data centers that face sustained local opposition are eventually canceled." Water use was cited as the biggest reason for opposing DC development. Expert Peter Freed told Heatmap he thinks only about 10% of DC projects in the works right now will ultimately come to fruition.
In response to community backlash, the Trump administration has called for Big Tech to ensure that ratepayers won't see higher electricity bills due to DC operations. Microsoft has also said, "We'll minimize our water use and replenish more of your water than we use." DC opponents may remain skeptical of these steps, but they could also be a sign that collective efforts are having an effect.
Meanwhile, bipartisan opposition continues across the U.S., including in states such as Georgia, Louisiana, and Indiana, where residents don't want to see DCs so close to homes. Technology journalist Jacob Ward told CBS News in December, "80% of [U.S.] voters, according to a Gallup poll, would like AI to be regulated, and they don't care if we fall behind" in the so-called AI arms race.
Such regulation is increasingly a global question, not only because some countries are eager to beat out others in said race, but also because DC opponents are likely to be found just about anywhere a project has been proposed. In October, the New York Times reported on community dissatisfaction with DC construction "from Mexico to Ireland."
While the world waits to see whether rates of backlash-busted DC plans translate globally, those concerned about impacts on public health and well-being — such as potential links between DC operations, water contamination, and reproductive health — continue to call for more research, transparency, and regulation.
In early January, CG covered the publication of researcher Michael Haselhuhn's study, which found that some men may minimize climate crisis concerns to avoid appearing feminine. A summary of the research at PsyPost suggested that reframing climate action as protective, courageous, and dutiful might move the needle for these individuals. But in a new article from climate reporter Sammy Roth, Haselhuhn suggested that strategy may not work. "Maybe it ticks the needle a little bit," he told Roth, "but it's not the answer." CG asked public health researcher Dominick Shattuck, who specializes in men's health, masculinity, and behavior change, for his take: "The study also shows something hopeful: These pressures are not permanent."
Shattuck first noted that the links uncovered in Haselhuhn's study were small. He went on to contextualize the findings, saying that concerns over masculinity may shape how comfortable men feel in publicly demonstrating their climate concern rather than the climate concern itself.
"From a public health and engagement point of view, this matters because men’s disengagement is often blamed on lack of knowledge or bad attitudes, when in reality it may be more about whether expressing concern feels socially safe," Shattuck told CG via email.
In that case, fostering environments where it feels socially safe to share climate concerns is a potential solution — one in which everyone can play a part.
"When care and warmth are not seen as 'feminine,' masculinity concerns have much less influence," said Shattuck, who is also the founder of the global consulting firm Relational Ground.
He continued, "For men's health and public engagement, reframing care, prevention, and responsibility as normal, and respected, components of being a man can increase participation without asking men to give up their identity."
The 80-year-old international humanitarian organization CARE, aimed at fighting poverty and improving well-being, told CG it has been working in Venezuela "since 2019 through local partners." About 70% of the people it has reached in the country are women. The country has been in the headlines since early January, when a U.S. military operation captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, with U.S. President Donald Trump later saying his country would take over Venezuela's oil reserves. With recent U.S. activities and pressures being felt there, CG reached out to CARE for the org's perspective on regional impacts at the intersection of gender, the environment, and fossil fuels.
"We are currently unaware about immediate changes in the commitments and agreements between oil companies and their communities," said Catalina Vargas, CARE's country director in Colombia, which borders Venezuela. "However, we stress the importance of including and recognizing the voices of women leaders as key actors within their communities. We are also keen to underscore that humanitarian crisis and situations of fragility can substantially exacerbate people's exposure to different forms of violence, especially violence against women and girls."
Such stressors can amplify the risks of gender-based violence and harm mental health, disproportionately impacting historically marginalized groups, including low-income communities. Indigenous women, who also happen to have been major protectors of Venezuelan forests, may also face exacerbated risks.
"CARE works in Venezuela through local organizations, especially those led by women, who have been very quick to support the affected population by providing protection services for women and children and mental health services," Vargas told CG in a written statement. "These women-led organizations are regularly monitoring the situation because of fear to carry out large-scale activities given the level of instability in the country."
Vargas noted that CARE has a team working on the border between Venezuela and Colombia. She emphasized, "At the moment, fundraising is a priority in order to assist the population in this area."
Over two dozen wildfires have ravaged central and southern Chile in recent days, inflamed by a heat wave, strong winds, and what the Associated Press called a "yearslong drought." Reuters reported on January 21 that 20 people have been killed and that the death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts move forward. While firefighters and the military have worked to halt the flames and advance those efforts, communities and local governments have been distributing food, assembling temporary shelters, and restoring electricity where possible. The national response, according to Reuters, has been criticized by some residents and municipal officials as slow. Meanwhile, some of the gendered impacts may unfold far into the future, with a growing body of research suggesting prenatal exposure to wildfire smoke may impact pregnant people, birth outcomes, and child health.
A study published in the journal Environment International in 2024 found that exposure to the particulate matter from wildfire smoke increased a pregnant person's risk of preterm birth. A separate study, published in Environmental Science and Technology in 2025, indicated that exposure to wildfire smoke and heat stress in the month before pregnancy or during the first trimester could raise the risk of an infant being born small for gestational age or at low birth weight. Just this week, a new study published in ES&T suggested a link between prenatal exposure to wildfire smoke and autism in children.
For such reasons, groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention underscore the importance of safety precautions for pregnant people facing wildfire risks, including the use of a NIOSH-approved N95 respirator when outdoors, the use of a certified air filter when inside, and the monitoring of local air quality reports, as smoke may linger in the air — outside and in — for days.
Unfortunately, access to these vital resources remains inequitable, perhaps especially during times of crisis. Understanding your area's vulnerability to climate change, having essential supplies ready to go in advance of a disaster, and letting evacuation center staff know if you are pregnant when taking shelter are some steps that could help.
Meanwhile, advocacy efforts calling on governments to improve access to safe and effective masks and filters as a part of standard prenatal care may become increasingly likely as extreme weather events intensify.
As of earlier this week, Chilean national sources had indicated that at least 50,000 people had been evacuated and 300 homes destroyed while more than 74,000 acres had been burned. The AP, in two separate updates, also reported the burning of vehicles, a school, a church, infrastructure, and forests.
Starting this Friday and charged by an Arctic blast of air, a potentially historic winter storm is set to hit dozens of U.S. states, from the Plains across the South and into the Northeast, with heavy precipitation, strong winds, and frigid temperatures. With power outages, transportation disruptions, and business closures expected across multiple regions, abortion access expert Marisa Falcon is reflecting on the impacts of a major winter storm in 2021 — and pointing to some unique remedies for today.
The 2021 weather event knocked out electricity for millions of people across Texas as temperatures reached below freezing for a period of days. Meteorologist Allison Prater told National Public Radio this week that the extreme cold won't dip as low or last as long in this next storm. But as Texas Governor Greg Abbott readies emergency services for the weekend, the impacts of 2021 seem top of mind for many.
"As we prepare for what promises to be a chaotic weather event (to put it mildly), I keep thinking about the 2021 snowstorm in Texas that stranded abortion seekers in hotels for days on end, unable to get home," Falcon posted on LinkedIn — on the eve, happenstantially, of the anniversary of the now-overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
"I'm sure there were dozens, if not hundreds, more I didn't know about," the co-founder of Apiary for Practical Support and the Abortion Mobilization Project wrote in the post. "It's about to happen again but more. Climate justice is reproductive justice."
Falcon's projects have aimed to improve access to abortion care through practical, tangible means, such as strengthening logistical support and coordinating volunteer opportunities. "Fundamental to abortion care is, possibly counterintuitively, infrastructure," the nonprofit management consultant told CG. This might include child care arrangements, meal provision, lodging, and transportation that, all together, help patients reach the care they need.
"Clear roadways, public transportation, and access to internet are necessary for people to get the information and access they need for their abortions. Creating a system of robust public infrastructure that would mean a snowstorm in Texas did not necessitate a full breakdown of basic amenities would go a long way in ensuring that people have care regardless of weather. This, of course, would be made even more possible by an expansion of local clinics and health care providers that offer basic abortion care. If you can drive an hour to a clinic, it's not as big of a deal if the airport is closed."
As rising global temperatures intensify storms and shift weather patterns, and as laws restricting access to abortion make obtaining care where one lives more difficult, solutions to climate-related barriers are likely to become of increasing focus for reproductive rights proponents not only in the U.S. but around the world.
In the big picture, addressing such barriers will require large-scale actions, such as meaningful moves away from planet-warming fossil fuel systems to clean energy. But more immediate measures could come in the form of mail-order access to medication abortion, funds for extended hotel stays, and, yes, loads of logistical assistance.
"No massive overhaul of public services will happen in the next 24 hours. This is where practical support organizations come in," Falcon said of the orgs that provide logistical and financial support to clients.
She went on to say, "The most helpful thing to do right now is ensure that these organizations have the resources they need to support their clients."
This week, The Advocate published a piece looking at how — and why — LGBTQ+ individuals are fighting to protect the planet. In addition to spotlighting the solace nature may offer marginalized communities — "The natural world has never been discriminatory to me," biologist Shannon "SJ" Joslin told the outlet — The Advocate also pointed to a 2023 publication in Sociological Inquiry.
Its co-authors, Cameron Whitley and Melanie Bowers, argued that LGBTQ+ people may be more likely to fight the climate crisis because it poses disproportionate threats to their lives and well-being, including the potential for "exclusion from shelters or other resources due to heteronormative policies, inaccessible health care systems, harassment, and increased homelessness." CG asked Queers x Climate founder Diego de Leon Segovia for his take on these threats and what can be done to address them.
"While there is still a major gap in terms of data regarding the intersection of climate change and LGBTQ+ people … it has become scientifically unequivocal … that this population is among those most affected by extreme weather events due to the prevalence of historical discrimination and marginalization (such as higher rates of homelessness, unemployment, and general lack of economic opportunities)," said De Leon Segovia.
The climate and sustainability advisor, currently with APCO Worldwide in New York and formerly with the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contributed to the Global Environment Outlook 7, published by the United Nations Environment Programme in December. His focus in the effort aimed to ensure that the report reflected the disproportionate climate impacts on marginalized people. With documentation in some countries now stripped of such information, this alone is no small act. But De Leon Segovia is among those calling for much more.
The climate crisis is a global one, he said, requiring action from everyone. But he went on to insist that careful attention be paid to the communities most affected by it.
"In the case of governments, this means developing policies that are inclusive and equitable. Mexico’s most recent [Nationally Determined Contribution] is a prime example of this. It has four action lines exclusively dedicated to the LGBTQ population, including generating more disaggregated data, action and support, inclusion in decision-making process, and awareness."
De Leon Segovia underscored that such policies must be backed by meaningful financing and implementation. "We can have the best policies and funds, but without action nothing will change," he said.
Often, that action may take the shape of less formal and more direct community care. In addition to improving government policy and financing, some LGBTQ+ people have championed investment in queer-led mutual aid efforts as deserving of support — not only in times of crisis but as a long-term climate adaptation strategy.
One goal at Climate, Gendered is to bring a spotlight to the reality that proliferating pollution, increasing temperatures, rising seas, extreme weather, habitat loss, and more can uniquely and disproportionately impact girls, women, trans communities, and non-binary people — especially those from communities of color, Indigenous people, disabled people, immigrants and displaced people, people experiencing poverty, and residents of low- and middle-income countries. We're also interested in the climate crises and concerns that can disproportionately affect men and boys.
This work cannot be done alone or in silos. We welcome with gratitude your feedback and observations. And please feel encouraged to share one way you noticed this week that climate and gender connect — and share CG with a friend.
"Climate justice and social injustice are completely interlinked," said Isabel González Whitaker of Moms Clean Air Force during a virtual event focused largely on the actions of federal agents across the U.S. targeting immigrants and others.
"Abortion care must be explicitly included in climate and disaster response frameworks as a core health service," researchers Tamara Fetters of Ipas and Ruvani Jayaweera of Ibis Reproductive Health told CG.
"Using the Earth's resources to power tools that facilitate violence against women is a clear case of environmental and social injustice," Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, told CG.
"The world is waiting for the ideas generated by young women of the Himalayas," wrote scientists Durgesh Pant and Darshana Joshi in an op-ed published in the Garhwal Post.
