Exposing Gender Gaps in Financing Climate Change Mitigation – and Proposing Solutions

This fact sheet argues that integrating gender equality into climate change mitigation financing improves project effectiveness and sustainability. Drawing on examples from the GEF and CDM, and case studies from Nepal, Mali, and Colombia, it demonstrates that addressing gender-specific needs and ensuring women's participation in decision-making leads to higher public acceptance, increased ridership in transit, and better economic outcomes for women.

• Integrating gender equality into the planning, implementation, and decision-making of climate change initiatives can improve project effectiveness and viability, as public acceptance of low-emission transitions in agriculture, transportation, and energy sectors requires the involvement of both men and women.
• Lessons from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) indicate that gender mainstreaming is most effective when integrated from the start of a project. Key success factors include the use of intentionally gathered socially disaggregated data, the creation of economic and social co-benefits for both genders, and the presence of gender-sensitive government and institutional policies.
• The Nepal Biogas Support Program (BSP), a CDM project initiated in 1992, aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by substituting firewood and agricultural residues with biogas. The program estimated emission reductions of nearly 2 million tons over 21 years (approximately 50,000 tons of CO2 equivalents annually). Gender mainstreaming efforts led to 23 percent of biogas systems being owned by women and 30 percent of financing cooperatives being headed by women by 2011.
• In Mali, the Household Energy and Universal Rural Access (HEURA) project, supported by the World Bank and GEF, increased the rural energy access rate from 1% in 2000 to 17% in 2012, providing renewable energy to over 75,000 homes and 1,300 institutions. A 2011 gender assessment led to the creation of a gender and energy action plan by AMADER and a partnership with UN Women to promote income-generating enterprises for women.
• Bogotá's TransMilenio Bus Rapid Transit system, registered as the first transport project under the CDM in 2006, reduced CO2 emissions by over 1.6 million tons between 2001 and 2008. The system integrated gender-differentiated concerns, such as designated seating and safety campaigns against sexual harassment, to maximize ridership. Women comprise 24% of the total workforce, increasing to 70% when including fare collection and bus washing.

APA

Eddy, N., Harris, R., & Karlsson, G. (n.d.). Exposing Gender Gaps in Financing Climate Change Mitigation – and Proposing Solutions. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/financial-mitigation-factsheet.pdf

Chicago

Eddy, Nathalie, Rachel Harris, and Gail Karlsson. Exposing Gender Gaps in Financing Climate Change Mitigation – and Proposing Solutions. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/financial-mitigation-factsheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Eddy |first1=Nathalie |last2=Harris |first2=Rachel |last3=Karlsson |first3=Gail |title=Exposing Gender Gaps in Financing Climate Change Mitigation – and Proposing Solutions |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/financial-mitigation-factsheet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{eddyndexposing, author = {Eddy, Nathalie and Harris, Rachel and Karlsson, Gail}, title = {{Exposing Gender Gaps in Financing Climate Change Mitigation – and Proposing Solutions}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/financial-mitigation-factsheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }