Gender and Climate Change
EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies
Climate change and disasters are one of the defining challenges of our times. In Asia-Pacific, it is profoundly shaping the lives of communities, impacting food security, nutrition, clean water, health and livelihoods of women, men and marginalized groups. In particular, rural women, children, older persons, persons with disabil¬ities, ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups bear a heavier burden of climate change, due to social inequalities that limit them. Climate change, in turn, widens socio-economic gaps, trapping communities in a vicious cycle.
Yet, ongoing climate plans, policies and investments, however, do not adequately account for these distinct impacts on women and marginalized populations.
Women and marginalized groups, by virtue of their position and roles, are a fountain of solutions to tackle climate change. It is critical to leverage their knowledge, capacities and skills towards adapting to and mitigating climate change. Recognizing this pertinent need as the global community makes headways on the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, UN Women, UN Environment and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) are joining hands to implement EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies.
2018-2022 | Implemented across Asia-Pacific region | National footprints in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
AIM
The EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies aims to strengthen gender equality and human rights in climate change and disaster risk actions in the Asia and the Pacific region.
EmPower works at the nexus of gender equality, climate change and disaster risk reduction and women’s entrepreneurship in renewable energy.
GOALS
EmPower works on 5 key pillars:
VOICE AND LEADERSHIP
Encourage women and marginalized groups to participate in climate decisions
DATA FOR DECISION-MAKING
Generate, analyse and use sex, age and diversity disaggregated data to inform climate and DRR policy
GENDER RESPONSIVE CLIMATE POLICIES
Transform climate, disaster risk reduction and energy policies and financing to be more gender and human rights responsive
RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS
Enable women to access and use renewable energy and, through it, economic resources for resilient livelihoods
REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Improve regional processes, platforms and build regional knowledge on climate change and disaster risk reduction to include gender and human rights
EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals:
For more information, contact:
Inkar Kadyrzhanova | UN Women
Email: inkar.kadyrzhanova@unwomen.org
Annette Wallgren | UN Environment
Email: wallgren@un.org
Website: https://www.empowerforclimate.org
