COVID-19 has made very visible how climate change will affect us all on a global scale, which has stirred renewed energy to ‘build back better’ through climate resiliency. Some of us, however, will be harder hit by climate change than others.

Women in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their high dependency on natural resources for their livelihoods coupled with lesser economic, political, and legal clout. Despite these structural and socio-economic barriers, women often play a pivotal role in natural resource management and sustainable development as they navigate through the food, water, and energy requirements for both households and communities.

Solutions around climate action therefore must promote gender equality. Women must be placed at the forefront of climate change by engaging them in a participatory, multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral way that builds on their unique knowledge and perspectives.

Current levels of funding at the nexus of climate and gender largely remain scant. Although difficult to track, funding streams for work being done at the intersection of climate change and women’s rights have been virtually non-existent with less than 0.01 per cent of global philanthropic grant money supporting projects that addressed both climate change and women’s rights. Nonetheless, funding gender and women-focused initiatives for climate action provide unique opportunities to achieve environmental, social and financial returns.

One of the key challenges of working in the nexus of gender and climate change is the lack of understanding of the opportunities in this space.

Collaboration will be a big part of our climate and gender platform strategy,  and if we are to tackle the most pressing issue of climate change we will not only require to pool resources but also to integrate different perspectives to develop better insights.

Read the full article about climate and gender by Prachi Seth at Alliance Magazine.