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The e-Newsletter of the Gender Network April 2014 | Vol. 8, No.1

Momentum for change? Gender and Climate Change Finance
by Natalie Harms
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I thought you work on climate change, what have women got to do with it? I cannot
suppress a trace of frustration as the young embassy employee looks at me in
bewilderment.

Anybody who is committed to making climate change measures more socially inclusive and
sustainable has been confronted with similar situations. Some days this task seems like an
overealous attempt at uniting two fundamentally different worlds where people do not
speak the same language! "o many gender specialists and actors from women#s
organiations, climate finance in a complete enigma and to climate change professionals,
concepts such as gender mainstreaming and women#s empowerment are e$ually illusive.
"rying to build a bridge between these two comple% issue areas can be e%tremely hard work
& but it is e$ually important and e%citing.

So I take a deep breath and delve into a well'rehearsed e%planation! (hy wouldn#t women
have everything to do with it? If we are going to take the fight against climate change
seriously, we need to look beyond large'scale centralied technology pro)ects that pump
millions into building dams and reducing emissions from cement production. *limate change
affects people and we need a more people'centered approach.

"here is huge mitigation potential that lies dormant in the reduction of emissions from
household energy use and smallholder agriculture. And some of the most important actors
on the local level who are at the forefront of both mitigation and adaptation are women. It
is plain inefficient not to acknowledge the role women can play in reducing emissions in
their households and communities by giving them access to cleaner cook stoves and bio
digesters that convert livestock waste into useful energy. +iving women access to efficient
small'scale technologies not only reduces emissions significantly with minimal effort, it also
contributes to achieving long'term sustainable development goals. (omen who spend less
time collecting biomass for fuel can engage in income generating activities that can improve
their families# livelihoods and reduce gender ine$ualities. (omen who are often dependent
on natural resources and agriculture to provide food security for their families, have a
uni$ue knowledge of resource management that is key to community'based ecosystem
conservation, adaptation, mitigation and biodiversity.

"he importance of empowering women to contribute to reducing emissions and sustainable
development is slowly being recognied on the international climate stage. In recent years,
civil society organiations such as the +lobal +ender and *limate Alliance -++*A.
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have put
the gender'climate'ne%us on the agenda at international climate negotiations and are
pushing for inclusive climate finance.


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A12 *onsultant, +ender and *limate 3inance
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3or more information concerning ++*A#s work and for reading material on gender and climate change, visit!
http!44www.gender'climate.org4
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"he train has left the station, but there is still a long way to go. "he increasing awareness of
policy makers and practitioners was noticeable in a recent web chat on gender and climate
finance hosted by the A12
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. "he chat revealed many open $uestions regarding the future of
climate finance and highlighted the urgent need for ambitious and systematic gender
auditing of finance flows and climate measures. It is hard to demonstrate to donors and
policy makers that gender responsive climate pro)ects are more efficient, effective and
e$uitable, if inclusive approaches remain invisible.

Another fundamental challenge that is inherent to the climate finance landscape is the
aforementioned bias toward large'scale technology pro)ects. *limate finance is an
immensely comple% and volatile creature that lacks any mechanisms for direct access to
funds for communities or local actors such as women. "hese players at the base of the
pyramid rarely benefit from the 6trickle down# of multilateral or bilateral funds. 2ut there is
hope on the horion7

8n the international level, the new +reen *limate 3und -+*3.
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may become the first climate
finance instrument mandated to take a gender sensitive approach to mitigation and
adaptation finance. It remains to be seen whether the +*3#s results management
framework and investment criteria will live up to this mandate and ensure that gender
e$uality becomes an essential consideration for pro)ect approval.

8n the ground, bilateral and multilateral development institutions can play their part by
supporting country readiness to access climate finance and design inclusive mitigation
measures. "he A12#s regional technical assistance pro)ect
:
, for instance, demonstrates how
a partnership approach can bring representatives from environmental ministries and
women#s organiations to the decision making table.

"he road to inclusive mitigation action is long and rocky, but after all, rising to a challenge
was never meant to be easy.


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The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) or its Board of !overnors or the "overnments they represent# ADB does not "uarantee the accuracy of the data included in this
paper and accepts no responsi$ility for any conse%uence of their use# The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB&s part as
to soverei"nty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB&s terminolo"y#

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;ead the web chat transcript online at! http!44blogs.adb.org4chats4supporting'womens'contribution'fight'against'
climate'change
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<iane Schalatek from the =einrich 2oell 3oundation who )oined the A12 web chat is actively engaged in the
process of operationaliing a gender sensitive approach in the +*3. 3or more information on the challenges and
opportunities of implementing the gender sensitive mandate, see her various publications at!
http!44www.boell.org4web409>.html
:
3or more information on ;?"A @A09 6=arnessing *limate *hange Bitigation Initiatives to 2enefit (omen# visit!
http!44www.adb.org4pro)ects49:>5A'>>04main