A leading women and girls aid organisation is calling for greater focus on the impacts of the climate crisis in the Pacific region as Australia prepares to host the 2026 Women Deliver conference.
Women Deliver is due to begin in Melbourne next week. It marks the first time the conference will be hosted in the Oceanic Pacific region.
The landmark global feminist conference is a rare chance for women in the Pacific region to have their voice heard on the global stage. Rising sea levels, natural disasters and changing weather patterns are not abstract threats for these women.
“Women are more vulnerable in times of climate-driven disaster,” Jane William, Gender Project Manager at CARE Vanuatu says.
“This is why their engagement and leadership are critical during times of crisis, to speak and act on behalf of those most impacted.”
The call from CARE, an international women and girls NGO, coincides with World Earth Day 2026 and comes as we witness the worsening impacts of climate change on Pacific nations, and the disproportionate impact it’s having on women and girls.
A gender snapshot released by UN Women in 2025 showed that by 2050, under a worst-case climate scenario, up to 158.3 million more women and girls may live in extreme poverty globally as a result of climate change.
A recent survey by CARE confirmed that women are positive agents of innovative solutions in the face of climate change, with four in five women in crisis-affected areas working to make their communities safer.
‘When climate disasters hit, whether it’s a tsunami or drought, women die in far greater numbers than men. Many women stay behind to care for children and the elderly,” Environmentalist and CARE supporter Natalie Kyriacou OAM says.
“Male violence against women also increases in times of disaster. And too often, safety systems aren’t designed with women in mind.”
CARE has decades of experience working across the Pacific. It has teams in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste, and partnerships with local organisations in Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Fiji.
CARE Australia has joined an international, cross-sector call to action urging the Australian government and philanthropic sector to commit to long-term, large-scale investment in gender equality and climate action. Organisations to sign the letter include UN Women Australia, Plan International, World Vision and Oxfam.
The call specifically highlights the need for sustained funding to support intersectional leadership and ensure girls and women across the region can build resilient futures.
“Women Deliver presents an important moment in time to highlight challenges like the climate crisis, that women and girls face in our region, and how we are working to address these,” Senior Gender and Advocacy Officer at CARE Timor Leste, Celestina Perreira, says.
Women Deliver will be taking place in the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, from Monday 27 – Thursday 30 April.