Climate change affects individuals differently. Women are one of the social groups most vulnerable to climate change. Since the legal study of climate change is associated with the idea of correcting imbalances, the goal of this study is to assess the extent to which state laws addressing climate change take into consideration gender vulnerabilities. To achieve this, the study has been structured in three phases: initially, an examination of the concept of climate justice; next, a review of the vulnerabilities that create disadvantages for women in the context of climate change; and finally, an analysis of state laws addressing climate change. The objective is to determine how these legislative instruments consider gender-related issues and the extent of women’s involvement in shaping these laws. The study reveals that, despite being more vulnerable to climate change, women are not protected by state legislation. Out of the 27 federative entities, 23 have enacted specific legislation to address climate change, but only one of them, the State of Pará, explicitly includes the terms ‘gender’ and ‘women’ in its text. This shows that the gender perspective proposed by the Paris Agreement has not yet been fully incorporated into local legislation, possibly indicating the underrepresentation of women in positions of power.
Gender; women; climate justice; State laws; climate change