CLEAR

VISION

14TH EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL

NGO FORUM ON THE ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND POLITICAL
RIGHTS OF WOMEN

9 SEPT. 2022
PALAIS DES NATIONS

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF

THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
SUMMARY
Prof. Dr. Abdul Ghani Ali Mansour ABDULHAMEED
Non Governmental Organisation (Academia)
 sept. 2022

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN

THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.

Prof
Abdul Ghani Ali

CLEAR
VISION

We generate ideas for climate policy and support development

@clearvisionstrategy clearvisionstrategy@gmail.com +967-7777497344

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NSince 1975, countries through the United Nations (UN) have developed various
agendas to advance women's place in society. In 1995, the United Nations issued the
1995 Beijing Declaration aimed at achieving gender equality and greater
opportunities for women(United Nations1995). Compared to 1995, gender equality
has improved globally in absolute terms. More women are now employed and
participating in political leadership and educational endeavours. However, no
country has realized or come close to realizing the aspirations of the 1995 Beijing
Declaration and, thereafter alone, of the 2030 United Nations Agenda (UN-Women
2020). For men,women's rights and participation in income. Generating activities
and leadership roles remains limited.This lack of opportunity tends to widen in
developing countries. At the current snail pace, global gender parity will be
achieved within 100 years, while sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North
Africa region will take about 95 years and 140 years respectively to bridge the
gender gap (WEF 2019). Howeve, climate change may widen this transition gap.
Climate change is experienced and shaped differently by women and men
(Jerneck, 2018 ;UNFCCC, 2019).Women are more likely to die in a climate disaster, be
displaced by climate change, or die from pollution (UNDP, 2016b). They are not
inherently more vulnerable, but intersections between gender, power dynamics,
socio-economic structures, and societal norms and expectations result in climate
impacts being experienced very differently by women (Andrijevic et al., 2020).
Gender inequality also intersects with discrimination based on other aspects of
identity–class, age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, ethnicity,
religion - to multiply the impacts of climate change (Kaijser and Kronsell, 2013;
UNFCCC, 2019).
The climate crisis is accelerating faster and is more severe than previously
anticipated (IPCC, 2018b). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
special report on global warming of 1.5°C (2018) is explicit: we must reach net zero
greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050. We are already seeing the impact of
climate change with extreme weather events, land degradation, loss of biodiversity,
rising sea levels, and collapsing ecosystems (Allen et al., 2019). These lead to risks to
human health and survival, food supply and livelihoods, public goods such as
access to water, and to migration and displacement, security issues, and increases
in the economic and social costs of mitigation.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
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 The 2015 Paris Agreement saw ground-breaking international commitment towards
reducing emissions. 195 nations agreed to action and investment to keep the
increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial
levels and to pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C (UNFCCC,
2016).
Action on gender and climate change was agreed by Parties to the Paris
Agreement in the Enhanced . Lima Work Programme on Gender and its Gender
Action Plan (UNFCCC, 2019). The Gender Action Plan (GAP) emphasises that a just
transition to sustainable development can only be achieved if women are actively
involved in developing and implementing all aspects of climate change mitigation
and adaptation (UNFCCC, 2019).
While applying a gender lens to climate finance is increasingly recognised as key to
effective climate outcomes, it remains challenging for women’s organisations to
participate in climate finance processes or access funds.
The Gender Action Plan places women’s economic empowerment as central to
climate policy and action. It notes that “full, meaningful and equal participation and
leadership of women in all aspects of the UNFCCC process and in national- and
local-level climate policy and action is vital for achieving long-term climate goals”
and “gender-responsive implementation of climate policy can enable Parties raise
ambition, as well as enhance gender equality, and just transition of the workforce
and the creation of decent work and quality jobs” (UNFCCC, 2019, p2).

Evidence shows that climate change action that uses a gender lens to inform
analysis and priorities can create rapid improvements in women’s economic
empowerment (WEE) and gender equality more broadly. It shows that addressing
the gender-specific barriers and enablers to WEE, and ensuring women have
access to and control over decent work and economic assets can lead to better
climate and environmental outcomes.

For example, the evidence tells us:

Constraints and Enablers: Women are vastly under-represented in climate policy
and financing processes and yet women’s leadership increases the effectiveness of
climate funding by addressing women’s different needs and building on women’s
agency, strengthens climate innovation and delivers stronger climate,
environmental and business outcomes such as stronger climate policies and more
sustainable business practices.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
viii
 Engaging with women’s organisations, networks and unions can also help improve
women’s economic empowerment and climate and environmental outcomes.
Women already face barriers to work, to engaging in productive and sustainable
agriculture, and achieving economic empowerment as a result of social norms and
gendered power dynamics. These barriers are intensifying through the uncertainty
and change caused by climate change. Policies and workplace practices that
create or exacerbate barriers to women’s economic empowerment such as unpaid
care/work burdens, gender segregated occupations, wage gaps and gender-
based violence generate additional barriers for women to transition into new jobs
and sectors.

Access to and control over decent work: Women are overrepresented in the
lowest paid and informal jobs which are at greater risk from climate variability and
climate shocks. Green growth is not necessarily inclusive and, without policy
interventions, e.g. in education and training, women are less likely to benefit as new
jobs are created, jobs change and jobs disappear. Women entrepreneurs and
women-led start-ups can help diversify value chains, reduce risk, increase
competitiveness, and enable climate-responsive innovation.
Access to and control over economic assets: Secure land tenure for women,
especially combined with indigenous women’s knowledge and practices, would
increase climate resilience, and improve climate and environmental outcomes.
Access to digital and technological assets can help women to manage climate risk,
respond to climate variability and access support and information relevant to their
livelihoods during climate shocks. Social protection linked to resilience of social
and ecological systems can contribute to women’s adaptive capacity and provide a
stepping-stone to other economic opportunities.

Based on the evidence there are ten opportunities to support the implementation of
the Gender Action Plan and raise ambitions on women’s economic empowerment
and climate and environmental outcomes.
As countries define their Nationally Determined Contributions and develop their
National Adaptation Plans, the opportunities proposed in this report can help
ensure women’s economic empowerment is a core part of the response to climate
change.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
viii
The 10 identified opportunities to improve climate outcomes and address
women's economic empowerment (see figure below).
GAP

Raise ambition, enhance gender equality, and ensure a just transition

of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs

Raiseambition,enhance gender equality, and ensure a just transition of

the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs

Address gender-specific constraints and barriers Access to decent

work and control over work-related decisions Access to and control
WEE

over economic assets

WEE Address gender - specific constraints and barriers Access to

decent work and control over work - related decisions Access to and
control over economic assets

1. gender analysis to better understand context, intersectionality and power

dynamics and design better climate change responses and a more just
OPPORTUNITIES

transition
2. Promote women's leadership in climate processes and in business
3. Engage women's organisations in climate processes
4. Change the rules and challenge social norms that create barriers to WEE
and climate rresilience
5. Ensure women get decent jobs in green sectors and the transition to net
zero
6. Enhance education and skills for women workers in the green economy
7. Champion women innovators and entrepreneurs in the green economy
and transition to net zero
8. Ensure women have access to natural and communal assets
9. Ensure women have access to and control over digital technology
10. Build women's resilience to climate shocks

CLEAR
VISION

ADAPTATION AND RESILIENCE | NATURE - BASED SOLUTIONS

| ENERGY TRANSITION | CLEAN ROAD TRANSPORT
| FINANCE RACE TO ZERO
| RACE TO RESILIENCE NATIONAL ADAPTATION PLANS
| NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS
| LONG - TERM LOW EMISSION DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIE