UN Women: Climate finance must be gender-responsive

Gender equality and climate change action are inextricably linked, which is why women's empowerment should be at the center of decisions made at COP29, Jemimah Njuki, chief of the Economic Empowerment section at UN Women, told Report.

"The new collective quantitative goal for climate finance must take gender aspects into account and be accessible to mass and feminist organizations that are at the forefront of fighting the climate crisis," Njuki noted.

She emphasized that women bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work, which is intensified by climate change. On average, women spend 2.5 hours more on such work than men.

She noted that UN Women actively collaborates with governments, promoting measures aimed at gender equality in climate policy, women's access to decent work and social protection, as well as transformation of care systems.

"We strive to ensure investments in care infrastructure - from childcare centers to clean energy - as well as reducing the gender pay gap so that women working in the care sector receive equal pay for equal work," added Njuki.