CDKN and WEDO have launched a new guide entitled, Strengthening gender integration in climate finance projects. The guide presents a framework of recommendations for strengthening gender integration in climate finance projects, with concrete examples and resources to show how it can be done. The guide also shares broader enabling factors and recommendations to inform advocacy and action beyond individual projects, at the climate fund level.

This guide is designed for project teams preparing, designing, implementing and monitoring climate finance projects in developing countries under the four primary multilateral climate funds – the Adaptation Fund (AF), Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) – as well as for those overseeing the approaches of project teams:

• Implementing entities: National, regional and international entities responsible for the design, implementation and monitoring of climate finance projects in developing countries, often working through individual project teams.
• Country focal points: Developing country government actors who have key roles in project development, prioritisation and oversight.

The guide’s set of recommendations provides a simple framework for thinking about direct and powerful complementary opportunities for advancing gender equality. The recommendations stem from interviews with key stakeholders engaged in project development, design and implementation. The recommendations highlight important opportunities within the project cycle for strengthening gender integration. These include:

• Lead with local gender expertise
• Leverage local women’s groups and national gender institutions
• Collect the right gender data from the start
• Integrate gender specialists within the team
• Ensure continuity between design and implementation
• Pursue team-wide capacity-building opportunities

The guide also provides links to key resources for the climate funds so readers can examine existing manuals and guidelines for gender mainstreaming and refer to these when developing proposals. Valuable examples and many relevant resources already exist to guide team efforts, particularly in climate projects in developing countries.

Further reading

Strengthening gender integration in climate finance projects complements a sister CDKN publication, which is also being launched at COP26, entitled Advancing gender equality and climate action: A practical guide to setting targets and monitoring progress by Mairi Dupar and Patricia Velasco (with ODI, SNV, CARE Ecuador and Mercy Corps).