The Benefits of Gender Balance in Climate Change Mitigation Investments and Sustainable Energy Initiatives

1. 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

2. 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

3. Making the case for gender in energy and climate change mitigation

4. 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).

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. TaTEDO Integrating Modern Energy Services for Sutatinable Development and Poverty Reduction • Objective: Enhanceenergy 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 micro-financing institutions and national banking and financing institutions were important to encourage private investments in rural areas. Photo: TaTEDO

9. 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

10. 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

11. New opportunities for gender mainstreaming in energy financing mechanisms

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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.

17. Energia’s “5 CENTS”

18. 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 • Outreachto women’s organizations concerning energy and climate change initiatives, and financial opportunities and mechanisms, in accessible formats and languages.

19. 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.

20. THANK YOU! For more information, please visit: www.energia.org, a.rojas@etcnl.cnl