The Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) is one of the nine stakeholder groups of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Established in 2009, the WGC now consists of 20 women’s and environmental civil society organizations, who are working to ensure that women’s voices and their rights are embedded in all processes and results of the UNFCCC framework, for a sustainable and just future, so that gender equality and women’s human rights are central to the ongoing discussions.
In 2015, the WGC launched it’s first ‘Gender-Just Climate Solutions’ Awards. These awards aim to showcase real solutions for a more just, equal and healthy planet. Previous initiatives recognized have included women-owned and operated energy cooperatives in Germany, female entrepreneurial “energy shop” initiatives in Mozambique, and human rights based relocation planning in the Carteret Islands.
Winning initiatives are showcased across three categories, please review our award winners for examples:
- Technical climate solutions with a women or gender perspective (e.g. in area of renewables, energy or adaptation technologies etc.)
- Non-technical climate solutions with a women or gender perspective (e.g. in area of efficiency, consumption changes, resilience and capacity building etc.)
- Transformational climate initiatives with a women or gender perspective (e.g. addressing governance, institutional / societal change etc.)
Criteria: Initiatives will be weighted against the following criteria aimed to measure contributions to gender equality, resilience and sustainability. Winning projects will ideally work across all of the key result areas, though the organizers note that not all projects will be in a position / stage to meet each and every criteria. Due to existing inequalities and a lack of available resources globally, priority will be given to women-led initiatives, recognizing that programmes do not necessarily need to be women-led to be gender just.
Eligibility: All types of activist, grassroots and women-led organizations and groups working on issues related to climate change are encouraged to apply. Only non-governmental initiatives are eligible (local or national government initiatives cannot be considered). The activity/initiative should either already have been completed or should be in current operation. The initiative must fit within one of the 3 award categories.
Moreinfo: http://womengenderclimate.org
