Intersectional perceptions of climate justice: young women and gender-diverse perspectives and experiences of procedural justice in Aotearoa New Zealand

Extreme weather events in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (Aotearoa New Zealand) have exposed the urgent need for inclusive climate adaptation. However, the specific experiences of young women and gender-diverse youth remain largely absent from adaptation scholarship and policy in the Global North. Utilising an intersectional framework, this research explores how these groups perceive and experience procedural justice within local climate governance. Drawing on focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and photovoice methods, we examine how intersecting subjectivities of age and gender shape participants’ interactions with political spaces, ranging from formal council submissions to activist networks. Our findings reveal that despite high levels of civic engagement, participants experience systemic exclusion and tokenism, creating a sense of “mis-belonging” within the climate-resilient city. We argue that this procedural exclusion acts as a driver of maladaptation; by relying on technocratic planning that overlooks the specific housing and economic precarities faced by these groups, adaptation policies risk reproducing their vulnerability. Consequently, we conclude that effective climate action requires moving beyond “tick-box” consultation toward transformative adaptation, rooted in a politics of care that genuinely integrates intersectional youth perspectives.