PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project: Driving Mozambique’s climate resilience through energy access and climate-smart Productive Use of Renewable Energy

The report assesses the intersection of gender inequality and climate vulnerability in rural Mozambique to inform the design of the PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project. It identifies systemic barriers—including patriarchal social norms, low female literacy (49% nationwide), and limited access to land and credit—that hinder women's participation in the energy sector and their ability to adopt productive technologies. The project aims to deploy 30-40 solar mini-grids and use Results-Based Financing (RBF) to incentivise the uptake of climate-smart equipment. Key strategies include targeting 'time-saving' appliances to reduce women's labour burden, implementing SEAH (Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment) safeguards, and linking 5-10% of RBF milestone payments to GESI-specific results, such as the percentage of female mini-grid customers.

• Deeply embedded patriarchal norms in Mozambique limit women's voice and decision-making power in public and domestic spheres, often rendering them passive beneficiaries rather than active agents in climate action.
• Women in rural Mozambique face significant 'time poverty' due to the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work, including spending approximately 100 hours per year collecting biomass for fuel.
• The energy sector in Mozambique is heavily male-dominated, with women underrepresented in technical and managerial roles; for instance, only 19% of employees at Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM) are women.
• Women's adaptive capacity to climate shocks is hindered by limited access to productive resources, as they have weaker land rights than men despite legal frameworks and the existence of matrilineal societies.
• There is a stark gender gap in literacy and education, with only 28% of rural women aged 15-49 being literate compared to 55% of men, which restricts their ability to adopt new technologies and understand legal rights.
• Women are at a higher risk of gender-based violence (GBV), with a 30% lifetime chance of experiencing it, and this risk is exacerbated after dark in areas lacking energy access and lighting.
• Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) can be transformative for women if it targets both income-generating and time-saving appliances, such as water pumps and solar lighting, to reduce labour drudgery.
• The project will integrate GESI into its operational framework by making SEAH (Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment) compliance a mandatory eligibility criterion for mini-grid and PURE developers.
• To ensure gender-inclusive outcomes, the project will link 5-10% of Results-Based Financing (RBF) milestone payments to specific GESI indicators, such as the number of female-headed households with energy access.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project: Driving Mozambique’s climate resilience through energy access and climate-smart Productive Use of Renewable Energy. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp290-gender-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project: Driving Mozambique’s climate resilience through energy access and climate-smart Productive Use of Renewable Energy. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp290-gender-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project: Driving Mozambique’s climate resilience through energy access and climate-smart Productive Use of Renewable Energy |date=25 March 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp290-gender-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026pure, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{PURE Rural Mozambique Climate Project: Driving Mozambique’s climate resilience through energy access and climate-smart Productive Use of Renewable Energy}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp290-gender-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }