Concept note
Unpacking gender dimensions within climate-related concerns, policies and programmes is important to enhance social, economic, and environmental outcomes. In particular, exploring the gender and climate change nexus is key to reducing the differentiated impacts of disasters and climate change on women and men, promoting the empowerment and opportunities of women and men in all their diversities, enhancing their access to environmental decision-making, and ensuring a just transition.
Data plays a critical role in uncovering gender-climate change nexus issues, informing actions, and supporting the monitoring of policy implementation and outcomes. The statistical community at various levels has been advancing statistical guidance and tools in the areas of gender, climate change, and the intertwining between the two. They include, for instance, the Global Set of Climate Change Statistics and Indicators, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting and Climate change, the Disaster-related Statistics Framework, the Asia-Pacific Gender-Environment Indicators and the Model Questionnaire on Gender and Environment. Understanding particular circumstances, needs, and priorities of countries is essential for policy-relevant applications of these tools and guidance in addressing national gender-climate change concerns.
To this end, the Climate Change Commission, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) are partnering to support the Government of the Philippines in the production and use of selected priority statistics and indicators that may help understand the gender-climate change nexus and inform related policies based on national needs. In particular, this support will include: (1) A facilitated national multistakeholder consultation to identify key information needs and priority areas for measurement; (2) Technical support for the production of selected indicators of national policy interest using available data; and (3) Assistance for the preparation of a short data brief for policy advocacy/use and way forward.
Within the context of pursuing step (1) above, the CCC, ESCAP and UN Women are organizing a national consultation scheduled to take place on July 16th and 17th, that will bring together representatives from key government agencies and civil society organizations which are engaged in climate and gender-related work.