Intersecting Climates: A Gendered Analysis of Energy, Politics, and Finance in South Sudan's Vulnerable States (2021–2026)

This paper presents a gendered analysis of the intersecting climate, energy, and political economy crises in South Sudan's most vulnerable states, including Juba, Western Equatoria, Jonglei, and Eastern Equatoria, from 2021–2026. It addresses the critical problem of how climate-induced disruptions, particularly intensified flooding and erratic rainfall, are mediated through entrenched political and financial structures to disproportionately erode women's wellbeing and agency within the energy sector. Employing a rigorous mixed-methods approach, the study systematically triangulates satellite-derived climate data (2021–2025) with qualitative fieldwork from 2024, comprising semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with women, community leaders, and energy stakeholders. The analysis demonstrates that climate shocks compound women's energy poverty by disrupting traditional biomass collection and stalling clean energy initiatives—a dynamic exacerbated by political patronage and fiscal constraints. Crucially, the findings establish that climate vulnerability is not merely biophysical but is fundamentally constituted within gendered political economies, where women's adaptive capacities are systematically constrained by their exclusion from energy governance and finance. The paper concludes that effective climate adaptation in South Sudan, and similar contexts, necessitates a transformative approach centred on gender equity in energy governance, redirecting climate finance towards empowering, women-led sustainable energy solutions. This underscores the imperative for integrating socio-political analysis within climate science to build meaningful resilience.