The Benefits of Gender Balance in Climate
Change Mitigation Investments and
Sustainable Energy Initiatives
Presentation of paper by:
Gail Karlsson, Senior Policy Advisor
Ana Rojas, Climate Change and Gender Expert
ENERGIA
Conference: “Improving energy access through climate finance: picking the
winners”
26 to 28 March 2013, University of Twente (Enschede)
The Netherlands
WOMEN AND ENERGY POVERTY
• Burdens of unpaid work related to energy
scarcity fall more heavily on women.
• Increased access to energy can benefit
women by:
– freeing up the time and labour
– opening education and employment
opportunities
– increasing productivity and income
– improving their health
– powering ICTs for marketing, health &
services.
Photo: GRATIS
MAKING THE CASE FOR GENDER IN ENERGY
AND CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
“… assessing the implications for women and men of any
planned action, including legislation, policies and
programmes, in all areas and at all levels, and as a
strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns
and experiences an integral dimension of the design,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies
and programmes in all political, economic and social
spheres so that women and men benefit equally and
inequality is not perpetuated” (ECOSOC 1997/2).
ENERGIA’S GENDER MAINSTREAMING
TOOLS
• gender audits of decision-making and management
processes;
• engaging gender experts;
• collecting gender-disaggregated data;
• incorporating gender-sensitive budgeting; and
• using gender-based indicators and M&E
No data– no visibility; no visibility– no interest
(Huyer and Westholm, 2001)
PA East Africa –Upesi Cook Stove Project
• Objective: Improve living
conditions of women by
producing and marketing Upesi
cook stoves.
• Women have:
– transitioned from producing
ceramic stove liners to making the
outside metal cladding and
assemble the stoves
– developed new stove designs
Photo: Practical Action
Replication effect:
• Similar programmes employing
women and men
• Networks have emerged to
support entrepreneurs
• More than 300 community stove
installers earning an income
• About 1.8 million stoves produced
in Western Kenya and
disseminated nationally
Photo: Practical Action
TaTEDO Integrating Modern Energy Services for
Sutatinable Development and Poverty Reduction
• Objective: Enhance energy access for
households, small and medium sized
enterprises and social services centres.
• Main findings:
– Promotion of modern energy technologies
is more effective when beneficiaries are
enabled to use energy services
productively for income and employment
generation.
– Establishing linkages between local microfinancing institutions and national banking
and financing institutions were important
to encourage private investments in rural
areas.
Photo: TaTEDO
ENERGIA’S FINDINGS
• Many of women’s traditional
businesses require large amounts of
time and heat energy.
• To promote incomes through use of
more energy-efficient processes and
equipment for businesses.
• More efficient types of fuels and
equipment allow increase profitability
and productivity and move into other
types of businesses.
Photo: EASE/ETC Foundation
• Women face difficulties in
obtaining capital
• Specifically targeting women can
help them make the transition
from small-scale informal
operations to formal businesses.
• New ICT allow better market
access and information, as well
as banking and financial services.
Photo: EASE/ETC Foundation
Photo: EASE/ETC Foundation
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR GENDER
MAINSTREAMING IN ENERGY FINANCING
MECHANISMS
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL (SEFA)
• mobilize support for off-grid,
small-scale, decentralized and
community-based sustainable
energy options in hard-to-reach
areas
• promote gender equity by
supporting basic services in
places where women’s time and
opportunities are most severely
constrained by energy scarcity.
GENDER AND CLIMATE FINANCING
CONCERNS
• UNFCCC mechanisms could provide women in developing
countries with financing for access to sustainable energy
- if they are gender sensitive.
• Women have faced challenges in accessing these
financing mechanisms, including:
– gaining information to allow them to identify appropriate
financing possibilities
– acquiring the technical expertise to develop suitable proposals
– having the financial capacity to put together and fund projects
before qualifying for emission reduction credits.
CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM
(CDM)
In Nepal, the Biogas Support Programme has received CDM
credits for widespread production of household biogas plants.
ENERGIA worked with this programme to:
– develop a gender mainstreaming plan
– set targets for promoting women’s ownership of biogas digesters,
– train women to build and manage biogas digesters.
• The project has reduced women’s fuel wood collection,
improved cooking and health conditions, lowered carbon
dioxide emissions, and given women more time to engage in
income-generating activities.
CLIMATE INVESTMENT FUND (CIF)
• Women as beneficiaries.
• The IUCN report recommended that the CIFs
–
–
–
–
develop a more comprehensive gender strategy
take additional steps to support gender mainstreaming,
engaging a gender specialist;
harmonize and institutionalize gender considerations more
effectively;
– promote additional knowledge, innovation and cooperation regarding
gender issues;
– strengthen the CIFs through technical approaches linking gender to
climate change and specific sectors;
– adopt gender sensitive monitoring and evaluations
GREEN CLIMATE FUND (GCF)
• GCF has provisions for:
– “taking a gender-sensitive approach”
– stakeholder input and participation (including from women) in the
design, development and implementation of the strategies and
activities financed by the fund.
• Opportunity to put forward information and methodologies to
ensure that gender considerations are actually incorporated
into the fund’s management and operations.
• It is also likely that the UNFCCC’s 2012 gender balance
decision will draw attention to this issue.
ENERGIA’S “5 CENTS”
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
• Recognition that [poor] women contribute to national energy security,
economic development, and climate change mitigation and adaptation
efforts.
• Specific attention to women’s energy access in national and international
institutional frameworks
• Prioritization of gender equality in energy and climate change plans,
investments and policies, including through designation of gender focal
points
• Outreach to women’s organizations concerning energy and climate change
initiatives, and financial opportunities and mechanisms, in accessible
formats and languages.
• Adoption of participatory processes that actively involve women in
the design, selection and implementation of renewable energy and
climate change mitigation projects.
• Support for targeted training programs for women in technical
skills, business management, and financing options to support their
involvement in renewable energy business opportunities.
• Adoption of gender assessments of management processes;
gender-based needs assessments, project indicators and evaluation
criteria; gender-sensitive budgets and accounting procedures; and
engagement of gender experts and advisors.
THANK YOU!
For more information,
please visit:
www.energia.org ,
a.rojas@etcnl.cnl