Shaping Climate Diplomacy: South Asia’s Women

Nabeeha is an International Relations graduate with First Class Honors. She is interested in climate policy, climate diplomacy, and sustainable development, building on her thesis comparing China and South Korea’s use of climate diplomacy as a tool of power (linkedin.com/in/nabeehawafa).

Introduction

South Asia’s climate diplomacy is being reshaped by women, but their leadership remains caught between recognition and real influence. From Pakistan’s sub-national representation at COP30 to Bangladesh’s grassroots resilience and India’s intellectual critiques, women are playing significant roles in redefining how the region negotiates survival amid the climate crises. Yet the test is whether their voices can move diplomacy beyond symbolism into binding commitments and equitable finance.

Regional Context

South Asia stands at the frontline of climate change vulnerable regions globally. Pakistan’s 2022 floods displaced 33 million people and caused $30 billion in damages, Bangladesh loses around 2% of GDP annually to climate impacts, and India faces intensifying heatwaves that threaten food security and urban health [1]. Amid these crises, a quiet transformation is underway with women increasingly shaping South Asia’s climate diplomacy, influencing negotiations, securing climate finance, and reframing resilience strategies.

At COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025, gender equality was placed firmly on the agenda through the adoption of a new Gender Action Plan, ensuring women’s voices remain central in climate governance. For South Asia, this global framework intersects with local realities, where women diplomats, negotiators, policy makers and civil society leaders are reframing resilience and justice.

Case Studies of Influence: Pakistan, Bangladesh, India

Pakistan

In Pakistan, women have begun to occupy visible positions in climate diplomacy. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif represented Pakistan at COP30, marking the first time the province was showcased on the global stage [2]. She presented an integrated model of climate leadership that combined technology, innovation, and inclusive governance. She highlighted initiatives such as the Suthra Punjab (Clean Punjab) campaign, Punjab’s transition to electric mobility, and biodiversity protection measures, unveiling Punjab’s AI-driven Smog War Room and announcing the introduction of 1,500 electric buses. “The Fight against smog is no longer a slogan but a mission,” she declared, positioning Punjab as a sub-national climate leader [3].

Alongside her, the UNDP Gender Climate Awards 2025 recognized women such as Dr. Aisha Khan, who leads sustainable agriculture projects integrating climate resilience into rural livelihoods, and Sadia Bashir, a journalist amplifying community voices in national debates. These figures demonstrate how Pakistani women are shaping both policy and public narratives, blending formal diplomacy with grassroots advocacy. [4]

Pakistan has been consistently ranked among the top ten most climate-vulnerable countries, with an ND-GAIN score reflecting high vulnerability and low readiness [5]. At COP30, Pakistani negotiators emphasized equitable climate finance and resilience strategies, with women playing visible roles in these discussions. Initiatives like the UNDP Gender Climate Awards spotlight female leaders advancing clean energy, climate journalism, and community resilience projects. Their presence signals a shift from token representation to substantive influence in shaping Pakistan's climate diplomacy. In earlier years, women’s involvement in climate and political forums was often limited to symbolic inclusion. Research on women’s political representation in Pakistan shows that female delegates were frequently added to assemblies or delegations through reserved quotas or family connections, but rarely entrusted with leadership roles or substantive decision‑making authority. As a result, women’s issues were acknowledged rhetorically yet sidelined in actual policy agendas [6].

This pattern carried into climate diplomacy, where South Asian delegations often included women to demonstrate diversity but did not give them space to shape negotiating positions or chair sessions. The UNFCCC’s Gender Composition Reports have consistently documented this underrepresentation, noting that women from developing countries remain particularly absent from senior negotiating roles. Against this backdrop, the recognition of leaders such as Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Dr. Aisha Khan, and Sadia Bashir and alongside youth‑focused initiatives encouraging women’s entry into climate activism, marks a departure from tokenism. Instead of symbolic presence, women are now shaping both the policy agenda and the public narrative, embedding gender perspectives into Pakistan’s climate diplomacy in ways that were absent during earlier phases [7].

Bangladesh

Environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, who won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2009, continues to advise the Ministry of Environment and has consistently urged developed countries to fulfill climate finance commitments. “If developed nations fail to increase their contributions to combat climate change, climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh will face existential threats,” she warned ahead of COP30 [8].

Bangladeshi negotiators such as Shampa Goswani have pushed for the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, ensuring vulnerable states like Bangladesh receive adaptation finance [9]. At the grassroots level, ten women were honored with Climate Champion Awards in 2025 for advancing resilience in disaster-prone communities, from flood-resistant housing to women-led cooperatives [10]. These recognitions highlight how Bangladeshi women are shaping climate diplomacy both formally, through negotiations, and informally, through community-driven adaptation.

Importantly, Bangladesh is also investing in the next generation of women climate leaders. The Youth and Gender Programme of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) brings young women together to learn and address climate challenges through education and capacity‑building, ensuring their voices are integrated into future policy processes [11]. Similarly, the Urban Youth Council (UYC) initiative has institutionalized youth participation in municipal decision‑making, with women making up half of elected council members. These councils champion community‑led environmental initiatives and embed gender equality into local climate governance [12].

These efforts show that Bangladesh is not only celebrating current female leaders but also actively cultivating younger women’s participation, ensuring that the shaping of climate diplomacy remains an ongoing, generational process.

India

India’s climate diplomacy has also seen a rise in women representation. The launch of SHE Changes Climate India in 2024 created a platform amplifying women’s leadership in renewable energy, disaster preparedness, and inclusive climate policy [13]. Sunita Narain, Director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has long critiqued unsustainable growth models, stating, “The western model of growth that India and China wish to emulate is intrinsically toxic… India has no choice but to reinvent the development trajectory”. Her work on water security and air pollution has shaped India’s climate policy discourse . In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Narain and CSE spearheaded campaigns highlighting the health and environmental costs of unchecked vehicular emissions. Their advocacy was pivotal in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision mandating the conversion of Delhi’s public transport fleet to compressed natural gas (CNG). This intervention marked one of the most ambitious clean‑air transitions in the developing world, reducing particulate matter and setting a precedent for urban air quality governance. Narain has since continued to shape policy debates, warning that cleaning Delhi’s air requires “uncomfortable and inconvenient decisions” that challenge entrenched interests, particularly among affluent residents who contribute disproportionately to pollution [14].

Ecofeminist scholar Dr. Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya, has campaigned for biodiversity and seed sovereignty. She insists, “We are either going to have a future where women lead the way to make peace with the Earth or we are not going to have a human future at all” [15]. Her activism connects grassroots framing movements to global climate justice debates. At Mumbai Climate Week in 2026, women leaders emphasized gender-responsive urban planning as a cornerstone of resilience, showing how informal networks can shape national climate diplomacy [16].

Challenges

Despite these advances, women are still underrepresented in formal delegations. Patriarchal structures, tokenism, and limited institutional support risk overlooking their contributions. Women’s leadership is often celebrated rhetorically, yet excluded from the substance of binding negotiations [17].

South Asia’s vulnerability makes this exclusion particularly costly. Pakistan’s floods, Bangladesh’s coastal erosion, and India’s heatwaves demand urgent adaptation strategies. Without embedding women’s perspectives into formal diplomacy, resilience risks being framed narrowly, ignoring justice and community realities.

The Diplomatic Test

Regardless of the challenges, opportunities are growing for the women as well. The COP30 Gender Action Plan provides a framework to embed gender equality in climate policies for the next decade [18]. Networks like SHE Changes Climate India and UN Women’s EmPower Project amplify South Asian women’s voices globally, suggesting that the next decade could see them emerge as champions of climate justice.

As climate crises intensify, the perspectives rooted in justice, resilience, and equity will be indispensable. The test is clear: can South Asian women negotiators and activists move climate diplomacy from rhetoric to results? Their leadership has already reframed debates around finance, justice, and adaptation. The next step is ensuring these perspectives shape binding agreements, not just side events and awards.

Conclusion

South Asian women have gone from only being symbolic participants in climate diplomacy to actually playing a role in redefining it. By weaving grassroots resilience into formal negotiations, they are reshaping the region’s climate voice. The test now lies in whether their leadership can move diplomacy from recognition to influence, ensuring that South Asia’s climate future is negotiated through perspectives rooted in justice, equity, and innovation.

Works Cited

[1]. Khurram, A. (2026). COP 30 and Pakistan’s Climate Diplomacy Strategy. [online] Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. Available at: https://pide.org.pk/research/cop-30-and-pakistans-climate-diplomacy-strategy/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2026].

[2] The Nation. (2025). Punjab to Take Center Stage at COP 30: Showcasing a New Model of Climate Leadership. [online] Available at: https://www.nation.com.pk/08-Nov-2025/punjab-take-center-stage-cop-30-showcasing-new-model-climate-leadership [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].

[3]. The Express Tribune. (2025). CM Maryam unveils Rs123 b smog war room AI monitoring systems at COP 30 climate summit. [online] Available at: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2577037/maryam-declares-war-on-smog-at-cop-30 [Accessed 15 Feb. 2026].

[4]. UNDP. (2025). Pakistan’s Gender Climate Awards 2025 Spotlight Women Driving Climate Solutions. [online] Available at: https://www.undp.org/pakistan/stories/pakistans-gender-climate-awards-2025-spotlight-women-driving-climate-solutions [Accessed 12 Feb. 2026].

[5] Institute of Rural Management (IRM). (2025). Pakistan’s Climate Change Paradox. Vulnerability, Responsibility, and Internal Action - IRM. [online] Available at: https://irm.edu.pk/pakistans-climate-change-paradox-vulnerability-responsibility-and-internal-action/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].

[6] Malik, N. (2025). Women’s Political Representation in Pakistan -A Historical Overview. [online] Available at: https://iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025/05/womens-political-representation-pakistan---historical-overview-nadeem-malik.pdf [Accessed 21 Feb. 2026].

[7]. UNDP. (2025). Pakistan’s Gender Climate Awards 2025 Spotlight Women Driving Climate Solutions. [online] Available at: https://www.undp.org/pakistan/stories/pakistans-gender-climate-awards-2025-spotlight-women-driving-climate-solutions [Accessed 12 Feb. 2026].

[8]. Dhaka Tribune. (2025). Rizwana urges developed countries to fulfill global commitments on climate finance. [online] Available at: https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/bangladesh-environment/395021/rizwana-urges-developed-countries-to-fulfill [Accessed 15 Feb. 2026].

[9]. UN Women - Asia and the Pacific. (2025). Policy Brief: Gender-Responsive Climate Financing In Bangladesh. [online] Available at: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2024/11/policy-brief-gender-responsive-climate-financing-in-bangladesh [Accessed 15 Feb. 2026].

[10]. The Daily Star. (2025). Grassroots women honoured as climate champions for building resilient communities. [online] Available at: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/grassroots-women-honoured-climate-champions-building-resilient-communities [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].

[11]. International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD). (2026). Youth and Gender Programme. [online] Available at: https://icccad.net/programmes/youth-programme/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2026].

[12]. Women and Gender Constituency. (2025). Urban Youth Council: Young Leaders for Climate and Gender Justice in Bangladesh. [online] Available at: https://womengenderclimate.org/gjcs/urban-youth-council-young-leaders-for-climate-and-gender-justice-in-bangladesh/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2026].

[13]. SHE Changes Climate. (2019b). SHE Changes Climate - India Network. [online] Available at: https://www.shechangesclimate.org/country-networks/india [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].

[14]. Centre for Science and Environment. (2019b). Sunita Narain. [online] Available at: https://www.cseindia.org/page/sunita-narain.

[15]. Schueman, L.J. (2025). How Vandana Shiva sparked a global movement for seed freedom. [online] One Earth. Available at: https://www.oneearth.org/agricultural-hero-vandana-shiva/.

[16]. The Climate Reality Project. (2023). Meet the Women Leading the Climate Fight in India and South Asia. [online] Available at: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/meet-women-leading-climate-fight-india-and-south-asia.

[17]. Kumari, S. (2024). Imbalance of power: Women at international climate negotiations. [online] Dialogue Earth. Available at: https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/imbalance-of-power-women-at-international-climate-negotiations/.

[18]. Daily Parliament Times. (2025). Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s Climate Diplomacy Vision. [online] Available at: https://www.dailyparliamenttimes.com/2025/11/10/maryam-nawaz-sharifs-climate-diplomacy-vision/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2026].