Representing gender inequality in scenarios improves understanding of climate challenges

Achieving gender equality can increase societies’ capacities to deal with climate change. Here we highlight empirical connections between gender equality and climate change adaptation and mitigation to propose a structured and detailed inclusion of gender-related aspects in the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway framework. The introduction of hypothetical pathways of gender (in)equality in the scenario space can help analyse interactions with other socioeconomic drivers and subsequent implications for adaptation and mitigation options. The extent of challenges to climate change adaptation and mitigation may substantially change depending on the rate at which societies progress towards equal access to resources and opportunities for self-realization for all genders. We propose steps that the scenario community could take to enrich the next generation of socioeconomic pathways. This Perspective highlights links between gender inequality and climate change adaptation and mitigation, and proposes a roadmap for incorporating gender issues into the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. These scenarios could help understand challenges under diverse trajectories of gender equality.