Climate finance is at the front and centre of this year's climate negotiations. It is considered key to accelerating climate action, ensuring a just transition, and strengthening community resilience. Yet, current mechanisms fail to adequately address global inequalities. For instance, less than one percent of global finance supports projects addressing both climate and women's rights. This lack of funding is a significant barrier to gender-just climate action.
To make climate justice a reality, we must boldly reimagine the global financial architecture, recognise the specific needs and vulnerabilities of different communities, and invest in women and girls as key contributors to the green transition.
A gender-responsive approach to climate finance aims to transform current financing mechanisms by recognizing the specific needs of vulnerable communities, increasing funding of women-led climate initiatives and feminist civil society, investing in women and female entrepreneurship as key drivers of the ecological transition, and ensuring that women and girls benefit from resources aimed at addressing negative climate impacts.
On the occasion of World Environment Day, 5 June 2024, the International Gender Champions Secretariat released the third part of the video series "Championing Gender Equality in Climate Action", made possible through the support of the United States Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.
In the video, Ambassador Matthew Wilson, Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, member of the International Gender Champions (IGC) Global Board and member of the IGC's Climate-Gender Impact Group in Geneva, highlights the importance of gender-responsive climate finance and showcases the Bridgetown Initiative, Barbados' new model to promote climate justice by reforming the global financial architecture to ensure that disadvantaged communities and nations receive adequate support to address the negative impacts of the climate crisis.
Watch the video to learn more about the urgency of thinking climate finance and social justice together!