A Critical Feminist Evaluation of Climate Adaptation Law and Policy: The Case of Aotearoa New Zealand

Laws and policies designed to help communities adapt to the effects of climate change are proliferating around the world. Our analysis of Aotearoa New Zealand’s adaptation policies reveals that the experiences of women are not adequately accounted for, and that technocratic, masculinist, and top-down adaptation approaches have been prioritized over knowledges and approaches from diverse perspectives. We argue for a critical feminist reconceptualization of climate adaptation, based on: (1) taking a relational approach to embedding an ethics of care; (2) putting equity and justice in context; and (3) acknowledging diverse agency and knowledge production. Our approach suggests possible paths toward more inclusive and equitable climate adaptation based on relational understandings of reciprocal, human-environment relationships. This analysis has broad, global relevance for other countries that seek to adopt adaptation policies, by identifying possible new pathways toward just and equitable climate adaptation.