Natural resources dependence and climate vulnerability: Do women's political empowerment and political ideology make the difference?

Abstract

This article analyses the effect of natural resources on vulnerability to climate change, with an emphasis on the mitigating role of women's political empowerment and political party ideology. Specifically, it explores the extent to which women's political empowerment and political ideology reduce the positive effect of natural resource dependence on the degree of climate vulnerability. We find strong evidence of a positive relationship between natural resource dependence and climate vulnerability. Moreover, we observe that only forestry, coal, oil, and natural gas rents increase vulnerability to climate change, while mining rents help to reduce climate vulnerability. The results also highlight the fact that the political empowerment of women and the ideology of political parties attenuate the effect of natural resources on climate vulnerability. The effect of political ideology is more persistent for left-wing governments.