Women’s Leadership Key to Ensuring Climate and Energy Justice

Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, yesterday urged parliamentarians to place women’s leadership at the centre of climate and energy justice efforts.

Ms Ckikunga delivered the keynote address at the P20 Meeting of Women Parliamentarians, hosted by Parliament in Kleinmond. Women Parliamentarians are gathering to deliberate under the theme “Women’s Leadership in Climate and Energy Justice”. The meeting is taking place ahead of the 11th Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20), scheduled for 1-3 October 2025.

Minister Chikunga used the platform to urge parliamentarians to legislate for climate and energy justice. She said this will ensure that women are at the forefront, driving transformative change rather than just being passive beneficiaries.

The Minister warned that excluding women from decision-making undermines both science and humanity, as women continue to bear the brunt of climate-related crises. “Across Africa, women have tilled the land during droughts, carried water through times of scarcity and sustained families when floods displaced communities. Yet their voices remain marginalised in shaping policies that affect them most,” she said.

Referring to the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, as well as droughts in the Horn of Africa and rising food insecurity across the continent, the Minister highlighted the disproportionate risks that women face.

She stressed that climate vulnerability is not gender-neutral but magnified by entrenched inequalities. Women-headed households, she said, often experience the harshest impacts.

Minister Chikunga also called for an intersectional approach since women with disabilities, women in rural farming areas and young women face compounded barriers amid climate shocks. Highlighting the need for gender-responsive climate finance, the Minister also urged that resources reach women farmers, entrepreneurs and community leaders who are advancing renewable energy and climate-resilient agriculture.

She also referred to the Just Energy Transition and reiterated government’s commitment to put women at the centre of new green industries. Referring to South Africa’s Chairmanship of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group, she told delegates the country has prioritised the care economy, financial inclusion, and is tackling gender-based violence. Minister Chikunga reaffirmed that these priorities are mutually reinforcing and central to inclusive growth.

Sibongile Maputi
30 September 2025