5th July 2019, Munich
For immediate release

Four years ago, the Paris agreement was adopted with an important preamble that makes specific references to i.a. human rights and gender equality. Yet today, even after the adoption of a gender action plan at COP23, many decision makers still do not understand how adopting a rights based and gender-responsive approach can lead to more ambitious and effective climate policies. That is why we want to showcase the Gender Just Climate Solutions at the upcoming climate negotiations. WECF and the Women and Gender Constituency are launching today, July 5th 2019, the fifth edition of the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards, that will honour at COP25 the fundamental contribution of women in the fight against climate change. These awards are made to inspire political decision makers and funders to develop a more inclusive, fair and effective climate strategies. 

Women’s unequal participation in decision-making processes, their reduced access to financial resources and labour markets, prevent them from actively contributing to climate-related planning, policy-making and implementation. The Gender Action Plan that was adopted by the countries at COP23 aims at addressing those gaps, and the recent climate negotiations conducted in Bonn last June, provided an opportunity to prepare for a renewed and more ambitious Gender Action Plan for COP25. The Women and Gender Constituency wants more commitments for climate finance and technology transfer that actively address persisting gender inequalities, for example in the energy and transport sectors. We want strengthened capacity building at all levels, and stronger support to ensure the meaningful participation of local women in climate policy processes. 

Policy makers tend to focus on large-scale, highly sophisticated solutions, but these often exclude local populations and women from the planning and decision making processes, as shown in a recent study of the International Labour Organisation (1). The Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards showcase the strong potential of bundling and replicating tested, community driven and gender-just small scale solutions. They can attain similar climate impacts whilst unlocking multiple social and environmental co-benefits. 

For example, in rural Cameroon, training women on mud-building techniques for clean cookstoves has opened the way for new skill-sharing networks among communities and contributed to building peace in the project area (award winner 2017, Sonita Mbah). In India, relying on self-help groups among women farmers for the implementation of an innovative rainwater collection system, has led to a very strong adoption rate in 7 provinces, improving crop yields and livelihoods of thousands of farmer families (award winner 2018, Trupti Jain). In Laos, rehabilitating traditional non-timber harvesting practices owned by women have enhanced their status in the community, helped resolve conflicts among ethnic groups and contributed to a more sustainable use of the endangered forests (award winner 2017, Elizabeth Thipphawong). In Morocco, the mentoring support we provided to our 2016 award winners, Jamila Idbourrous and Katim Alaoui, will lead to the creation of several women-lead energy cooperatives for the local production of decentralized solar solutions responding  to the needs of rural populations and small farmers.

This year again we will be proud to showcase and promote new gender just climate solutions during the upcoming UN Climate Conference, in Santiago de Chile.  Apply with your project in one of the following three categories: 

• Technical solutions (e.g. in the area of renewables, water-saving adaptation technologies etc.)
• Non-technical solutions (e.g. in the area of efficiency, consumption changes etc.)
• Transformational solutions (e.g. addressing governance, institutional change, development models etc.)

The winners will receive a grant of 2000€ and benefit from a 1-year-mentoring programme of the Women and Gender Constituency, to build their capacity towards scaling-up, access to climate  technologies and climate finance.

HOW TO APPLY: 

The subscription is simple and free!  You need to create an account in order to be able to participate. Click on the following link and fill the required information regarding your profile and project. Submit and participate! The deadline for entries is Monday, September 09th 2019, 5pmEST.  Initiatives will be reviewed by an international jury with members of the Women and Gender Constituency and will be weighted taking into account the criteria aimed to measure contributions to gender equality, resilience and sustainability.You apply here: https://www.judgify.me/genderjustclimatesolutionsawards2019 

FOOTNOTE
(1) ILO. (2018). World Employment and Social Outlook 2018: Greening with jobs

CONTACT DETAILS

Anne Barre
anne.barre@wecf.org 
Mobile: + 49 15123575122

Gina Cortes
gina.cortes@wecf.org
Mobile: +49 17664271919

PHOTOS
You are free to use these photos as long as you credit those labelled “Photo credit: Annabelle Avril”. Download photos here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kMPHDYd0ZaNadE0dyqwRfyOXmpg3lS2O?usp=sharing 

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