Climate finance plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, but one often-overlooked sector is care services the work of caring for people, both paid and unpaid, largely performed by women. As climate change intensifies, caregiving demands rise, yet infrastructure and resources remain inadequate.
Why Care Services Matter in Climate Adaptation
Extreme heat, floods, wildfires, and storms disproportionately impact vulnerable groups like young children and the elderly, increasing the need for healthcare, childcare, and elder care. However, most disaster preparedness plans fail to prioritize care services, leaving caregivers especially in urban informal settlements struggling with limited access to clean water, energy, and healthcare.
Despite the growing urgency, climate finance largely ignores care infrastructure. Estimates suggest that developing nations need $215–$387 billion annually for adaptation, yet only 4% of global adaptation funding is allocated to health and 2% to education both critical to caregiving.
Where the Money Should Go
Climate finance must be redirected to local governments, where most adaptation efforts take place. However, only 17% of climate finance currently reaches local levels, leaving cities and municipalities without adequate resources for care infrastructure.
To address this, cities must integrate care services into climate action plans. Some urban areas like Quezon City (Philippines), Renca (Chile), and Barcelona (Spain) have started incorporating care into their adaptation strategies.
How to Fix the Gap in Climate Finance
- Integrate care into national adaptation plans: Countries must assess care needs, identify funding gaps, and include caregiving infrastructure in their climate adaptation policies.
- Increase funding for care at the local level: Cities should map existing care services, estimate costs for expansion, and incorporate them into municipal disaster risk plans.
- Include care in national climate pledges (NDCs): Governments should explicitly recognize care services in their submissions to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, ensuring it becomes a global priority.
- Strengthen civil society engagement: Advocacy groups must push for better climate funding allocation and stronger financial transfers to local governments.
To build true climate resilience, governments and international donors must recognize care as essential infrastructure just as critical as energy, water, or transportation. Investing in care strengthens communities, reduces vulnerabilities, and ensures a sustainable future where both people and the planet thrive.