Authors:
- Karishma Ansaram – University of Edinburgh, UK
- Anne Omwoyo – University of Nairobi & County Government of Kisii, Kenya
In Africa, the impacts of climate change are disproportionately felt by women, especially in rural areas, where they are more reliant on natural resources and more vulnerable to climate-related shocks (UNDP Climate Promise, 2023). These women are often hit hardest by climate impacts like droughts, floods, and food shortages. Yet, they are also the least represented in decision-making processes. The Cancun Agreements acknowledge that gender equality and the effective participation of women are important for all aspects of any response to climate change (UNFCCC, 2011). To address these gendered vulnerabilities, it is crucial to incorporate a gender lens into climate financing at the subnational levels.
Africa already has a window of opportunity to leverage gender equality through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The African Union also developed its ‘Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa’, ratified by more than half the continent’s countries. Studies such as International IDEA (2021) and Madsen (2021) have signaled gender parity in access to primary education and a higher percentage of women in parliaments. However, those in the most vulnerable areas still face discrimination that further impedes on their livelihoods (Maina and Enrullahu, 2022). Countries have also developed climate change and gender action plans (Nigeria, Kenya, The Gambia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) (UNDP, 2023).
Subnational governments are uniquely positioned to identify the specific needs of women in their communities. Initially, numerous climate funds overlooked gender aspects. Over the past decade, however, they have made considerable strides to systematically incorporate gender considerations by revising and improving their frameworks and policies (Schalatek, 2022). By channeling climate finance towards initiatives that promote gender equity, such as access to climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable water management, and landscape restoration, local governments can enhance resilience and drive sustainable development. Moreover, involving women in climate governance can lead to more inclusive and effective climate policies.
Gender under the UNFCCC frameworks has come a long way. At COP21, gender equality was embedded in the Paris Agreement, although it lacked specific language in sections like mitigation (UNFCCC, 2015). Subsequent COPs saw the extension of the Lima Work Programme and the development of the Gender Action Plan, yet progress remains slow, hampered by insufficient resources and expertise (UNFCCC, 2017; UNFCCC, 2018). Despite advancements, such as in the Standing Committee on Finance, gender balance and representation issues persist (UNFCCC, 2021).
Recent global climate discussions, such as those around the Loss and Damage Fund, the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), and the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), have brought fresh attention to the importance of targeting climate finance to those most vulnerable, especially women. These frameworks provide an unprecedented opportunity for African countries and local governments to prioritize gender in their climate finance strategies.
Loss and Damage Fund: Addressing Gendered Climate Impacts
The Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund, established to help nations cope with irreversible climate impacts, is a crucial tool that can be used to address the distinct losses women face. Climate disasters tend to deepen gender inequalities, with women often shouldering the extra burden of caring for families and managing household resources in the wake of floods, droughts, or other extreme events. Specific actions are needed to eliminate barriers to funding for women, particularly those who are illiterate or have disabilities. Global climate funds, NGOs, and governments must intentionally integrate robust gender screening processes into selecting climate programs (Action Aid, 2022). Gender-transformative social protection policies can tackle inequalities women and girls face, aiding their recovery from climate losses and disasters. These measures include income support, unconditional cash transfers, employment guarantees, asset building, and reskilling.
Evidence increasingly shows that social protection can transform gender norms and relations (Anderson, 2021, Sida 2021). Social protection is often overlooked in national and international climate discussions. Governments and the UNFCCC’s Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) must ensure these measures are well-funded through the L&D Fund. Further, the L&D Fund should prioritize and assess vulnerabilities of men, women, boys, and girls, evaluating labour, resources, and needs (Eco, 2023). L&D accounting processes will provide clear understanding on ‘deficits’ in adaptation (for delayed actions) and adaptation financing and consequent L&D needs. A recommendation by Oxfam (2023) for a ‘community access window’ working directly with grassroots groups for rapid-response and slow-onset impacts is crucial. Funds should offer flexible, multi-year unrestricted support, enabling truly gender-transformative and human rights-based responses to loss and damage.
Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA): Building Gender-Equitable Resilience
The GGA, set up to enhance adaptive capacity globally, also plays a key role in advancing gender-responsive adaptation strategies. Local governments in Africa should incorporate women’s voices into climate resilience planning, ensuring that climate-smart agriculture, water management, landscapes restoration and clean energy solutions are accessible to women. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, women produce about 80% of the region’s food but often lack land tenure rights, restricting their decision-making power and limiting their economic and social development opportunities (Action Aid, 2022). Microfinance and innovative adaptation tools have a key role to play. For example, The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) uses gender-analysis tools to enhance gender-responsive adaptation in Mali by employing participatory methods to understand differences in knowledge, vulnerabilities, and adaptation capacities between women and men. In Uganda, Centenary Bank offers financial services to over 1.4 million clients, emphasizing microfinance. In 2013, it launched an agricultural finance department, and by 2017, introduced preferential loan rates for farmers purchasing climate-resilient seeds and irrigation kits, aiming to encourage climate adaptation, especially among women farmers (GCA, 2021). Developing tools, methodologies, guidelines, and indicators is crucial for monitoring gender-responsive climate policies in Africa.
Data collection tools like the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and the Gender Empowerment Index for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GEI-CSA) are effective starting points for measuring climate intervention impacts on women and men and addressing disempowerment. Further, there is a dominance of power by funders. Best practices in climate adaptation, such as water-saving technologies or early warning systems, can overshadow local knowledge, even when it aligns with gender-responsive goals. Ignoring African spiritual and cultural knowledge in climate action can disproportionately impact women and girls. For instance, many key roles in indigenous practices have been more affected by the loss of cultural sites due to oil exploration (ODI, 2024a). Donors can offer dedicated funding and resources to support women-led organizations and create gender-sensitive guidelines to ensure their meaningful engagement. This may require donors or intermediaries to step back from co-design processes, allowing local actors to independently develop initiatives.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG): A Gender-Focused Future for Climate Finance
As negotiations continue around the NCQG (the post-2025 climate finance target), gender equality must be front and center. The NCQG aims to significantly increase climate finance flows, but it’s critical that these funds are distributed in ways that empower women and other marginalized groups. Delegates at TED-9 and AHWP-1 highlighted the importance of including language in the NCQG outcome to improve gender responsiveness and support for indigenous peoples, youth, and future generations, suggesting both qualitative references and quantitative targets like specific percentages or funding amounts (Christian Aid, 2024). Research shows that difficulty in accessing finance from both UN funds and MDBs contributes to inequitable allocation of adaptation finance (SEI, 2024). Direct access allows national entities to manage funds independently, reducing reliance on international agencies and building long-term project management capacity.
Enhanced direct access, which channels small grants directly to local communities, has proven to be more gender-responsive. Likewise, tracking the flow of climate finance to gender related actions is key. OECD Rio climate markers and the OECD gender markers, both systems distinguish projects that are principally focused on climate or gender from those that have less ‘significant’ policy objectives. However, the UNFCCC Adaptation Gap report (2023) shows that only a few projects adhere to the OECD gender policy and are tagged as gender responsive. Multilateral climate finance lacks systematic gender marker tracking, limiting traceability compared to bilateral finance. Improving coordination among MDBs and climate funds for joint reporting on gender and finance is needed, but leadership and funding remain uncertain. It’s important to note that these markers assess policy intentions, not outcomes, aiming to enhance transparency on funding impacts for both climate and gender equality (ODI, 2024b).
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) : Gender Responsive focused
FSD Africa (2023) has mapped the gender inclusion in African NDCs. The findings show that almost all countries (90%) mentioned gender or gender related terms in their NDCs. However, only 32% of the countries performed a gender analysis to inform their NDCs. Private climate finance is crucial for NDC implementation, with 74% concentrated in the energy sector, while the AFOLU sector receives only 7% (AfDB, 2021). The lack of gender consideration in funding allocation contributes to women being left behind, as female participation is higher in low-growth sectors like agriculture and lower in high-growth areas like energy (IUCN, 2019). A report by UNDP (2023) outlines the need for gender lenses in NDCs. The African Group of Negotiators advocate for allocating dedicated funds for gender-responsive activities within ministries and agencies.
Similarly, more indicators on gender related actions should be included in the NDC. During project planning, gender-specific activities, outcomes, and indicators need to be established to assess integration progress. Countries in Africa have been complying with international commitments to collect sex-disaggregated data in relation to climate change, yet much remains to be done as these data sets are difficult to transcribe and to understand the extent and nature of women’s participation. Adaptation planners need to make more effort in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating sex-disaggregated data so that progress on gender related goals can be measured.
Leveraging UNFCCC Frameworks for Gender Equity
As Africa navigates the challenges of climate change, it has the opportunity to lead the way in integrating gender-responsive strategies within UNFCCC frameworks. By focusing on gender equity, Africa can ensure that women, who are disproportionately affected by climate impacts, are actively involved in finding solutions. Here are key areas where Africa can champion gender responsiveness:
- Incorporate Gender in Climate Finance: African countries can emphasize incorporating a gender lens into subnational climate financing. By targeting funds towards initiatives that empower women, such as climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy, they can effectively address women’s specific vulnerabilities, particularly in rural areas. This approach helps ensure that resources reach those most impacted by climate change.
- Leverage Existing Protocols and Agreements: Utilizing frameworks under the UNFCCC and that of African Union’s Protocol on the Rights of Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women strengthens gender equality in climate initiatives. These protocols provide a solid foundation for advocating for policies that protect and empower women in the face of climate challenges. Ratifying and implementing these agreements further entrench gender equity in climate action.
- Enhance Participation and Decision-Making: Advocating for women’s involvement in climate governance at all levels leads to more inclusive and effective policies. By ensuring women’s voices are heard, particularly in decision-making roles, African countries can craft solutions that accurately address gender-specific needs. This participation helps bridge gaps in representation and ensures diverse perspectives in climate strategies.
- Promote Gender-Responsive Adaptation: Encouraging adaptation strategies that support women’s access to resources, such as land tenure and clean technologies, can improve local resilience. Training and supporting women in climate-smart agriculture and water management empower them to better manage environmental challenges.
- Establish Gender-Responsive Metrics: Developing tools and methodologies to monitor and report on gender impacts ensures transparency and effective fund allocation. By using indices like the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and that recommended under each UNFCCC framework above, Africa can better assess how climate policies affect both women and men. This data-driven approach allows for measuring progress and identifying areas needing improvement, driving accountability and results.
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