On Thursday March 17th at the U.N.’s 60th Commission on the Status of Women, Liane Schalatek led a parallel event entitled “Why Are Gender Considerations Key for Climate Finance Actions?” The event was hosted in partnership with the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. During this interactive discussion, Liane, Kate Lappin (APWLD), and Bridget Burns (WEDO) provided an overview on why the consideration of gender aspects in climate action is vital to ensure that projects and programs supported by existing climate funds provide equitable benefits for men and women on the ground and are effective in the mid‑ and long-term. There was a particular focus on the Green Climate Fund. The event was also a space for civil society to engage in discussion about why gender equality and women’s empowerment are crucial considerations for the climate finance discourse. A long Q&A session allowed civil society participants from around the world to ask both technical and region-specific questions about climate finance.
Some key takeaways from the event were:
- Climate change and climate finance are not gender neutral. Climate finance does not exist in a normative vacuum.
- We should aim for climate finance that is gender just, as opposed to gender mainstreamed. Funding should be designed to advance women’s human rights. In order for this to happen, we need to go beyond sex-disaggregated data and gender balance in leadership.
- Climate finance boards and advisory panels must have personnel with gender expertise. Integrating gender equality objectives into budget lines is equally necessary.
- Climate finance should be channeled to sub-national, local actors. This finance needs to be directed specifically to local women’s organizations if we are to realize a feminist fossil-free future.
For more details on the discussion, check out the storify below. To download the presentation as a pdf, click here.
