As the international community mobilizes in response to global climatic changes, climate funds must ensure the equitable and effective allocation of funds for the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Women and girls, who bear a disproportionate burden of negative climatic change impacts in developing countries, have largely been excluded from climate change finance policies and programs. Women and girls must not only be included in adaptive and mitigative activities, but also recognized as agents of change who are essential to the success of climate change interventions.

This report draws on research findings that climate financing funds have systematically neglected gender issues and failed to incorporate a gender perspective into programs and projects. It was prepared by Gender Action at the request of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization and Oxfam to look at practices that could work for women in climate change financing.

The report contains case studies of two non-climate funds, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance). These offer valuable lessons for gender integration in global finance mechanisms. Case studies of the two climate funds, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF), provide insight into specific challenges and opportunities related to gender integration in climate change finance.