EMPOWER: WOMEN FOR
CLIMATE-RESILIENT SOCIETIES
IN BANGLADESH
Photo: UN Women/Shararat Islam
BACKGROUND
The impacts of climate change are unequally felt across Asia and PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
the Pacific. Women and marginalized groups have less access to
information, resources, finance and technologies, leaving them Programme Title: EmPower: Women
with greater challenges in coping and rebuilding after a crisis.
for Climate-Resilient Societies (Phase II)
In 2018, UN Women and the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) initiated the EmPower: Women for Climate- Responsible Agencies:
Resilient Societies Programme (EmPower) with support UN Women and UN Environment
from the Government of Sweden to accelerate gender- Programme
responsive and human rights-based climate actions in Bangladesh,
Cambodia, Viet Nam and in the wider Asia-Pacific region. Duration: 5 Years
As the programme enters its second phase in 2023, it has (January 2023 –December 2027)
expanded to include Indonesia and the Philippines with support
from the Governments of Germany, New Zealand, Sweden and Geographical Coverage:
Switzerland. Asia-Pacific region with a focus on
Bangladesh
Under the first phase of the programme, Bangladesh has made
considerable progress in mainstreaming gender in climate, disaster
and energy-related policies. For instance, with the support of
UN Women and UNEP, the country reviewed and updated its
Climate Change Gender Action Plan (ccGAP) and adopted a
National Action Plan (NAP) on Renewable Energy and Women
Entrepreneurship for Bangladesh.
STATE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN BANGLADESH
The Global Climate Over the past 50 The impacts of Women, in
Risk Index ranks years, the average climate change are particular,
Bangladesh as the temperature in unequally felt across experience greater
7th most affected Bangladesh has Bangladesh. The challenges in coping
by extreme weather increased by most vulnerable and rebuilding after
events, such as approximately communities are a crisis due to the
storms, floods 0.5°C. By 2050, at risk of injuries, lack of access
and droughts.The the annual average displacement, food to information,
frequency and temperature in and water insecurity resources, finance
intensity of these Bangladesh is and loss of and technologies.
events are being expected to rise by livelihoods, among
exacerbated by 1°C - 1.5°C. others.
climate change.
Building on the first phase of EmPower,
UNEP and UN Women are scaling up the
work from 2023.
Phase II is leveraging a variety of tools,
methodologies, and data to implement existing
plans and policies for gender-responsive, human
rights-based climate action. The programme
is expanding the scope for women and other
marginalized and gender-diverse groups to shape
decisions and build resilience, including through
access to finance, technology and renewable
energy as a driver of better livelihoods.
For this, further support is needed to unlock
finance for women to build climate-resilient
livelihoods, and to bring women’s leadership to
the forefront of climate action and the just energy
transition.
Photo: UN Women/Shararat Islam
PROGRAMME STRATEGY – PHASE II PHASE II KEY TARGETS
Impact: People in Asia-Pacific experience greater gender IN BANGLADESH
equality and the full enjoyment of their rights, including
equal access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
reducing their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.
USD 4M
of investment in gender-
Outcome 1: Asia-Pacific actors increase action on responsive renewable energy
gender-responsive climate change entrepreneurship
adaptation and mitigation. will be mobilized.
Activities:
23,000
• Support the Government to implement the Climate Change and
Gender Action Plan (ccGAP) through an investment plan as well
as a monitoring framework. women will benefit from
climate-resilient livelihoods
• Strengthen the capacity and knowledge of relevant local and services.
stakeholders in disaster risk reduction and climate change and
foster collaboration to create a gender-responsive and climate-
resilient society.
• Support inclusive and sustainable investments in renewable
energy to advance women’s economic empowerment.
350
women’s enterprises will build
climate-resilient livelihoods
• Support partner financial institutions’ capacity to deploy capital using renewable energy.
through newly developed financial mechanisms to scale up
investment into women’s enterprises with the use of clean energy
technologies.
• Support partner financial institutions to integrate ESG assessment
procedures into their loan/investment approval process for clean
105
women and marginalized
energy loans to women’s enterprises. individuals will have increased
capacity and agency to
Outcome 2: Women in all their diversity and other exercise leadership in
decision-making processes.
marginalized groups are represented as key environmental
actors in climate and DRR decision-making.
2
Activities:
• Foster collaboration among national, sub-national, and local
policies and actions that
women-led organizations (WLOs) and civil society organizations are gender-responsive
(CSOs) to advance their leadership and participation in gender- and human rights-based
responsive climate adaptation and mitigation actions in the will be implemented and
country and beyond. monitored.
• Establish women’s leadership in locally led adaptation agenda by
enabling community women leaders to lead community-identified
low-cost adaptation schemes. INTERGOVERNMENTAL
DECISIONS
• Undertake public awareness campaigns to address harmful social will increase commitments to
norms limiting women’s leadership in climate action. gender equality.
Reti Khatun, goat farmer and partner of EmPower
Photo: UNEP/Reza Shariar Rahman
Outcome 3: Women and other marginalized
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
groups in Asia-Pacific engage in climate-resilient
• Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate
livelihoods.
Change (MoEF&CC)
• Ministry of Women and Children Affairs
Activities: (MoWCA)
• Facilitate the access of women and other marginalized • Department of Women Affairs, MoWCA
communities to resources, including finance and climate-resilient
technologies, and strengthen their capacity to establish and run • Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral
renewable energy-based enterprises. Resources (MPEMR)
• Sustainable and Renewable Energy
• Initiate and expand collaborations with banks, financial institutions
Development Authority, MPEMR
and the private sector to secure and advance investments for
inclusive renewable energy-based livelihoods for women and • Ministry of Planning and Investment
other marginalized communities. • Ministry of Local Government
• Ministry of Agriculture
UN Women and UNEP welcome partnerships with key
• Ministry of Water Resources
stakeholders to promote gender-responsive climate action
through the EmPower Programme. Please reach out to the • Ministry of Fisheries
respective focal points below for more information on how you • Centre for Entrepreneurship Development
can get involved. (CED), BRAC University
Visit www.empowerforclimate.org to learn more. • International Development Enterprises (iDE)
• Manusher Jonno Foundation
• SME Foundation
• Women-led organizations
• National and international NGOs
• Private sector and associations
• Financial institutions
CONTACT US
Dilruba Haider Parimita Mohanty
Programme Specialist, DRR and Climate Programme Management Officer, Climate Change Division
UN Women Bangladesh UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
