Africa must unlock the power of its women and girls if it is
to adapt to climate change, cope with disasters and build its green energy
sector.
That was the message from African
delegates as the world prepared to implement the Paris Agreement on climate
change in Katowice, Poland, in December.
Research shows that when women are involved in decisions, agreements on the environment are more likely to be ratified and
projects around natural resources are more likely to succeed.
If given access to education and finance, African women can
contribute to finding technological solutions and driving the continent’s
renewable energy industry too.
“When you empower women in the context of climate change you
empower a family, a community and a country,” says Dana Elhassan, senior gender
expert at the African Development Bank, which allocates international funds to
development projects.
“You cannot solve a problem with half the team. A lot of the
unpaid work that women do, such as collecting firewood and water, and caring
for the family, are massively affected by climate change - so we have to make
sure adaptation initiatives address their needs, vulnerabilities and
potential.”
Studies show that when women are part of decision making,
ratification of multilateral agreements on the environment are more likely,
adds Mafalda Duarte, head of the $8.3 billion Climate Investment Fund, one of
the largest climate financing instruments in the world.
There is also strong evidence that women play a vital role
in dealing with disasters by mobilising communities – something that will
become increasingly important as climate change advances, she says.
“Discourse is quite tilted to considering women as victims
of climate change – but we are agents of change and if we are perceived as such
this will make a big difference,” says Ms Duarte.
“Our empowerment represents greatly under-utilised
opportunities to build our economies and tackle climate change.”
When women are empowered – given access to finance, assets
and decision making – there are big impacts across sectors, she adds.
“Renewable energy is traditionally seen as a male sector but
if you are deliberate in giving access to women, they become entrepreneurs and
help us push forward that agenda,” says Ms Duarte.
When women are empowered equally to men, there is a massive
leap forward in economic gains: a recent McKinsey study found that if women
were participating economically as much as men, they would be adding 28
trillion dollars to global GDP by 2025.
In Africa, lack of access to finance has resulted in an
estimated $42 billion financing gap for women entrepreneurs across business
value chains.
Yet unlocking African women’s ingenuity and giving them
access to finance could generate technological advancements that help deal with
climate change, believes the African Development Bank.
As mobile phone technology has proven, Africa is capable of
leapfrogging into an era of digitisation, which minimises risks and cuts costs
of doing business.
African women have shown potential to compete in this
digital workspace – Mfarm, AppsTech, JuaKali, Nandimobile, Hehe Ltd, Obami,
DotNxt, are only a few of the women-led tech startups in Africa listed by
Forbes.
“If we women are given the right platforms, we will achieve
the change we wish to see in the world,” says Ms Duarte.
Unlocking investment in African women holds incredible
return and transformational impact potential. Women form the backbone of
African economies, accounting for a majority of small and medium businesses and
dominating the agriculture sector as primary producers and food processors.
COP24 is the 24th conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This year countries
are preparing to implement the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the world’s
global warming to no more than 2C.
-Content supplied by the African Development Bank
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