Environmental degradation increases the demand for care as climate impacts drive worsened health outcomes, broader displacement, food and water insecurity, and the loss of livelihoods and economic opportunity, while simultaneously undermining the care systems and public services that sustain individual and community well-being. National and global climate policies can reinforce existing inequalities when they fail to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work (and reward and represent paid care work) by investing in strong care infrastructure. Integrating care into climate policy is a crucial matter of addressing gender, economic and social inequalities in care burdens, and a necessity for effective, equitable, and resilient climate action. 

Care is essential climate infrastructure, yet it remains largely invisible in climate policy. Therefore, care advocates have a critical role to play in shaping climate policy arenas at the national, regional and global levels. To influence climate policy, the care advocacy community does not need technical expertise in climate science, but to understand the policy processes that determine climate priorities, financing, implementation, and accountability. From the Sendai Gender Action Plan, to National Adaptation Plans, to the myriad of national health and just transition policies, the pathways for care advocacy in climate policy processes are plentiful and vital. This policy brief aims to highlight the key climate policy spaces where care advocates can engage strategically alongside climate justice allies to ensure the recognition and integration of care across national and global policy arenas.