Jakarta, March 12, 2021 –  Climate finance mechanisms need to incorporate the needs of both women and men to mitigate the impact of climate change on women and the poor according to a new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

According to the UN Framework Conventions and on Climate Change, climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.

Entitled “Leveraging Climate Finance For Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction,” the report looked at five national financing mechanisms in Indonesia to learn more about the way gender inclusiveness was incorporated. It examined programs funded through Indonesia’s national budget tagged across seven themes, which include climate change mitigation, adaptation and gender responsiveness.

“The key findings confirm our initial observations that gender-responsive interventions need to be better integrated into the climate finance mechanism. One example is the case of women beneficiaries who face greater difficulties in accessing climate financing from the State,” said Norimasa Shimomura, UNDP Indonesia Resident Representative, in his opening speech at the launching today.

“Requirements such as asset ownership, business skills, access to information, and memberships in cooperatives favour men or the rich. This is one instance-of an obstacle faced by women and the poor, the kind that limits access and benefits to those who need them most,” he said.

The report was launched during UNDP Indonesia’s flagship event, SDG Talks which aims to discuss and advocate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) issues with Indonesian youth. 

“Climate finance can result in actions that can either alleviate or exacerbate gender equity and poverty, we well know that the poor are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change,” said Houria Djoudi, a senior scientist at CIFOR. “Finance mechanisms that fund climate action should be designed to enable, rather than hinder marginalized populations—notably women and the poor—in facing climate change.

Many women in forest areas and rural parts of Indonesia depend on forestry, water and climate-vulnerable agriculture for their livelihoods. Women, especially the poorest, lack key access—such as land, credits and information and technology—to prepare for, and adapt to, climate change. 

Among the key findings of the report are: Indonesia’s national level policies support gender equality, but people implementing them in climate finance mechanisms do not have a common understanding of what it is and why it matters; Performance-based budgeting (PBB) can help advance gender equality and poverty reduction if government ministries and agencies agree on the importance of gender equality, acknowledge the vital role of women and the poor, and learn from experience.

You can find the report, presented in a new report and two info-brief publications, here: https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/7871

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Media Contact

UNDP Indonesia, Tomi Soetjipto, Communication Specialist, suryo.tomi@undp.org

CIFOR Indonesia, Budhy Kristanty, Communications Coordinator, b.kristanty@cgiar.org

About UNDP

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP

About CIFOR

CIFOR advances human well-being, equity and environmental integrity by conducting innovative research, developing partner’s capacity, and actively engaging in dialogue with all stakeholders to inform policies and practices that affects forests and people. CIFOR is a CGIAR Research Center, and leads the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). Our headquarters are in Bogor, Indonesia, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya; Yaounde, Cameroon; Lima, Peru and Bonn, Germany.

Learn more at cifor.org or follow at @CIFOR