IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 98 
Recognizing the disparate impact of climate change on women and the efforts 
of women globally to address climate change. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 2, 2009 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BALD-
WIN, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CLARKE, Ms. EDWARDS of 
Maryland, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. KUCINICH, Mrs. 
CHRISTENSEN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, and Mr. PAYNE) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the disparate impact of climate change on 
women and the efforts of women globally to address 
climate change. 
Whereas the month of March is recognized as Women’s His-
tory Month, and was celebrated in 2009 in accordance 
with the theme ‘‘Women Taking the Lead to Save our 
Planet’’, during which time our Nation highlights the 
contributions of women to events in history and contem-
porary society; 
Whereas women in the United States and around the world 
are the linchpin of families and communities and are 
often the first to feel the immediate and adverse affects 
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of social, environmental, and economic stresses on their 
families and communities; 
Whereas the United Nations has recognized, as one of the 
central organizing principles for its work, that ‘‘no endur-
ing solution to society’s most threatening social, economic 
and political problems can be found without the full par-
ticipation, and the full empowerment, of the world’s 
women’’; 
Whereas the United Nations Development Programme 2007/ 
2008 Human Development Report has emphasized that 
climate change is a substantial threat to development and 
poverty alleviation, requiring immediate action; 
Whereas climate change is already forcing vulnerable commu-
nities in developing countries to face unprecedented cli-
mate stress, including water scarcity and drought, severe 
weather events and floods, reduced agricultural produc-
tivity, and increased disease; 
Whereas climate change exacerbates issues of scarcity and 
lack of accessibility to primary natural resources, forest 
resources, and arable land, thereby contributing to in-
creased conflict and instability, as well as the workload 
and stresses on women and girls, who are estimated to 
produce 60 to 80 percent of the food in most developing 
countries; 
Whereas women will disproportionately face harmful impacts 
from climate change, particularly in poor and developing 
nations where women regularly assume increased respon-
sibility for growing the family’s food and collecting water, 
fuel, and other resources; 
Whereas infectious disease epidemics, such as malaria, are 
expected to worsen and spread due to variations in cli-
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mate, putting women and children without access to pre-
vention and medical services at risk; 
Whereas conflict has a disproportionate impact on the most 
vulnerable populations including women, and is fueled in 
the world’s poorest regions by harsher climate, leading to 
migration, refugee crises, and conflicts over scarce nat-
ural resources including land and water; 
Whereas it is predicted that climate change will lead to in-
creasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather con-
ditions, precipitating the occurrence of natural disasters 
around the globe; 
Whereas recent studies indicate that women and children are 
14 times more likely to die than men during natural dis-
asters; 
Whereas the relocation and death of women, and especially 
mothers, as a result of climate-related disasters often has 
devastating impacts on social support networks, family 
ties, and the coping capacity of families and communities; 
Whereas women in the United States are also particularly af-
fected by climate-related disasters, as evidenced in the 
wake of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region, 
which displaced over 83 percent of low-income, single 
mothers; 
Whereas the ability of women to adapt to climate change is 
constrained by a lack of economic freedoms, property and 
inheritance rights, as well as access to financial re-
sources, education, and new tools, equipment, and tech-
nology; 
Whereas, despite a unique capacity and knowledge to promote 
and provide for adaptation to climate change, women 
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often have insufficient resources to undertake such adap-
tation; 
Whereas women are often underrepresented in the develop-
ment and formulation of policy regarding adaptation to 
climate change, even though they are often in the best 
position to provide and consult on adaptive strategies; 
and 
Whereas the celebration of Women’s History Month, coin-
ciding annually with International Women’s Day on 
March 8th, serves as a yearly reminder of ongoing efforts 
to promote and protect the equal rights of women as well 
as their equal participation in the political and economic 
process: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) recognizes the disparate impacts of climate 
change on women and the efforts of women globally 
to address climate change; 
(2) encourages the use of gender-sensitive 
frameworks in developing policies to address climate 
change, which account for the specific impacts of cli-
mate change on women; 
(3) affirms its commitment to support women 
who are particularly vulnerable to climate change 
impacts to prepare for, build their resilience, and 
adapt to those impacts; 
(4) affirms its commitment to empower women 
to have a voice in the planning and implementation 
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of strategies to address climate change so that their 
roles and resources are taken into account; and 
(5) encourages the President to— 
(A) consider the impacts of climate change 
on women while developing policies and pro-
grams in the United States that are globally re-
lated to climate change; and 
(B) ensure that those policies and pro-
grams support women globally to prepare for, 
build resilience for, and adapt to climate 
change. 
Æ 
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