Secretary's International Fund for Women and Girls: Climate Change
"Women are on the front lines of this crisis, which makes them key partners and problem solvers. So we believe we must increase women's access to adaptation and mitigation technologies and programs so they can protect their families and help us all meet this global challenge."
-- Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, March 2010
Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our time and it demands a global solution. Women are well-positioned to be active participants in the fight against climate change. They are 70 percent of rural and small scale farmers and in many areas they have primary responsibility within families for securing water, food, and energy sources. Women are already assuming leadership in advancing climate change solutions around the world. In Bangladesh, for example, women are leading committees to respond to disastrous flooding. In Kenya, women are planting trees to generate income, improve conservation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In India, women are utilizing low-soot cookstoves which are more efficient and healthier for their families and the environment.
However, the global community must do more to invest comprehensively in these innovative solutions being led by women and engage with women who are on the front lines of preventing environmental degradation.
Gender and Climate Change
Investments to promote women’s role in combating climate change include:
- Education and Technology Solutions: Providing education and training for women on adaptive farming techniques to respond to environmental change and enhance agricultural productivity, expanding use of energy-efficient technology such as solar cook stoves, and supporting successful NGO adaptation and mitigation strategies through additional funding and resources.
- Capacity Building: Expanding women’s voices and leadership in the fight against climate change by providing grants to women-led adaptation and mitigation projects, highlighting women as change agents, with a special focus on the most vulnerable regions of the Pacific Islands, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.