Outcome APA_D_2.3

Needs of women are better addressed by climate change and disaster risk reduction actions for ensuring alternative climate-resilient livelihoods

The climate change continues to affect Asia and the Pacific. The trends in 2021 remain the same in terms of patterns of impacts on vulnerable. Though these impacts were further exacerbated by growing equalities and spread of COVID. Extreme weather and climate-related events accounted for 83 per cent of all disasters in Asia and the Pacific over the past decade [1] ; a pattern that is expected to continue into the future, with the number of climate disasters expected to maintain an upwards trend. [2] An alarming forecast, considering that in 2019 more than 75 million people were affected by disasters in Asia and the Pacific. [3] UN Women continued to work on creating enabling environment for gender mainstreaming in climate policies in the region by promoting normative changes, awareness raising and building capacities of stakeholders. One important result is finalisation of the assessment of the climate change commitments made by all countries in the region under the Paris Agreement and review of gender integration in policy, legal, institutional and monitoring frameworks as well as financing. Another result is about change in the lives of 2411 women-entrepreneurs to received support from the project for building climate resilience through the use of renewable energy sources. It is essential to understand that climate change and environmental hazards are not purely natural phenomena with physical causes and effects, but rather environments are made hazardous by social vulnerability and societal inequalities produced by underlying political and economic systems, including the politics of relations between people at different levels. Women often face heightened levels of vulnerability due to their position within both society and at the household level. Gender norms result in social, economic, and political barriers that limit women&rsquo;s ability to cope with and recover from the damage suffered as a result of sudden and slow-onset climate disasters. Certain groups of women are more vulnerable than others, namely female-headed households, indigenous women, older women and those with lower-levels of education and low socio-economic status; their lower societal positions limiting their access to resources and their ability to diversify their livelihoods in response to climate change. It is women&rsquo;s diverse reproductive and productive roles in the household and at the community level across all sectors, including in areas such as agriculture, energy provision, water and waste management, that are adversely impacted by climate change. The global assessment report prepared by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in August 2021 has identified Asia and the Pacific as a region particularly vulnerable to the physical impacts of climate change. Among certain expected impacts, scientists list "exacerbated poverty, inequalities and new vulnerabilities&rdquo; and &ldquo;increased risk of drought-related water and food shortages causing malnutrition&rdquo;. In addition, the region should expect to face &ldquo;increased riverine, coastal and urban flooding leading to damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and settlements in Asia&rdquo;; &ldquo;increased risk of flood-related deaths, injuries, infectious diseases and mental disorders&rdquo;; &ldquo;increased risk of heat related mortality&rdquo; and &ldquo;increased risk of crop failure and lower crop production&rdquo;. [4] In Asia &ldquo;heat extremes have increased&rdquo;, whilst &ldquo;sea levels will very likely continue to rise around Small Islands, more so with higher emissions and over longer time periods&rdquo;. [5] [1] IFRC, 2020. World Disasters Report 2020: Come Heat or High Water &ndash; Tackling the Humanitarian Impacts of the Climate Crisis Together. p.2. [2] UNESCAP, 2019. Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019: The Disaster Riskscape Across Asia-Pacific, Pathways for Resilience, Inclusion and Empowerment. p.9. [3] IFRC, 2020. p.91. [4] Hijoka et al, 2014. Asia. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . p.1336-1337. [5] </

Needs of women are better addressed by climate change and disaster risk reduction actions for ensuring alternative climate-resilient livelihoods

Governments and intergovernmental organisations including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) articulated greater commitments to collaborate and advance gender equality in climate change to deliver more inclusive outcomes. Key to this was the adoption by the ASEAN Centre of Energy of the Roadmap on Accelerating ASEAN Renewable Energy Deployment through Gender-Responsive Energy Policy ,with technical support from UNEP. The chair of the Renewable Energy Sub-Sector Network of the ASEAN Energy Cooperation has adopt it and a strong commitment was made to implement the actions and monitor the results. The roadmap will inform the ASEAN long-term renewable energy roadmap that is currently under development, with clear gender targets and indicators. Similalry, climate change was identified as a key priority for technical cooperation between the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and UN Women, reaffirming the commitments in the ASEAN-UN Women Joint Work Programme. The development of the sub-regional flagship reports on the State of Gender Equality and Climate Change in South Asia and the Hindu Kush Himalaya and Southeast Asia to identify gaps and scalable actions serve as key policy too. Findings and recommendations of the ASEAN report has informed the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW)/ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) workplan and the actions of different sectoral bodies working in climate change, agriculture, DRR and renewable energy. In the reporting year, governments and institutions from over 18 countries have strengthened capacities to integrate gender equality priorities in climate, renewable energy, and disaster risk reduction policies and plans. Governments adopted gender-responsive climate change and disaster risk reduction policies at the country level including the Bangladesh Climate Change Gender Action Plan and the Viet Nam Climate Change Strategy to 2050 through policy guidance, capacity building, and dialogues. These policies and frameworks brought opportunities for increased investments in addressing gender and social inequalities and building long-term resilience for women and vulnerable communities. Women entrepreneurs and women-enterprises have stratengthened capacities for resilient livelihoods as a result of trainings and increased access to renewable energy financing mechanisms. A total of 473 women have established or improved livelihood activities and over 1,689 women receiving indirect economic benefits such as improved standard of living due to access to basic services including water, reduced health and protection risks due to accessible and cleaner energy sources, and time saved due to availability of products and services in their communities. Over 56 women's rights and civil society organizations participation and leadership were strengthened in climate and disaster risk reduction dialogues and decision-making processes. CSOs have broadened networks, increasingly engaged in dialogues with governments, and has led community- based climate and DRR actions. Overall, UN Women in partnership with UNEP, through the joint project EmPower Women for Climate Resilient Societies together with its partners, provided integrated support aimed, leveraged platforms, fostered partnerships, and placed gender equality and human rights in the spotlight, creating a foundation for amplifying and scaling up results.