Women Who Manage Climate Disasters Are Generally the Last to Get Funding – PassBlue

Report on Gender-Responsive Climate Finance and the Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Aligning Climate Action with Gender Equality

Global efforts to address climate change, central to Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action), are undermined by a significant disparity in financial allocation. While substantial funds are pledged annually, analysis reveals that resources fail to reach women leading frontline climate initiatives. This gap directly impedes progress on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Sustainable Development Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), as women are disproportionately affected by climate disasters yet are excluded from key financial and decision-making processes.

Analysis of Funding Disparities and Systemic Barriers

Current climate finance mechanisms systematically overlook women-led, community-based organizations. This oversight compromises the effectiveness of climate adaptation and resilience strategies, which are critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

Key Funding Statistics

• Less than 1% of global climate finance reaches frontline communities.
• Only 0.2% of all foundation funding is allocated to women’s environmental projects.

The Critical Role of Women as First Responders

In the immediate aftermath of climate-related disasters, women consistently emerge as primary responders, organizing community care and recovery efforts. Case studies from climate events demonstrate this trend:

• Cyclone Idai (Zimbabwe, 2019): Local women organized the distribution of food, shelter, and psychosocial support, maintaining community cohesion when formal humanitarian aid was delayed.
• Cyclone Freddy (Malawi, 2023): Women led search efforts for missing persons and organized provisions for displaced families, showcasing leadership in disaster response and recovery.

These actions are fundamental to building resilient communities (SDG 11) but are executed with minimal to no external resources, placing an unsustainable burden on women.

Institutional Barriers to Equitable Funding

The global climate funding architecture, including major entities like the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environmental Facility, presents significant barriers to grassroots organizations. These barriers are rooted in institutional structures that conflict with the principles of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

• Bureaucratic Intermediaries: Funds are channeled through large international organizations, where a significant portion is consumed by overhead and administrative costs, preventing resources from reaching the local level.
• Patriarchal Structures: Decision-making processes often exclude women, perpetuating a cycle where solutions are designed without the input of those most affected and best positioned to implement effective, localized strategies.

A Proposed Model for Equitable and Effective Climate Finance

A paradigm shift is required towards direct funding models that empower women-led organizations. This approach aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by fostering direct, trust-based partnerships with frontline leaders.

Case Study: The Jane Fonda Gender and Climate Justice Fund

This fund exemplifies a new approach by channeling resources directly to women-led grassroots organizations. Its operational model is designed to correct existing imbalances:

• Direct Regranting: The fund eliminates intermediaries, ensuring that financial support goes directly to groups in countries such as Ecuador, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Senegal.
• Empowering Indigenous Leadership: An example of a supported group is the Ceibo Alliance in Ecuador, where Indigenous women lead efforts to protect territories from extraction and build community-driven, environmentally just solutions.

Core Principles of a Gender-Responsive Funding Model

• Trust-Based Philanthropy: Recognizing that local women possess the necessary expertise and do not require external management, but rather adequate resourcing.
• Redistribution of Power: Shifting financial control and decision-making authority to frontline communities.
• Resource Allocation, Not Rescue: Providing capital to scale up existing, proven, community-led solutions.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The continued exclusion of women from climate finance pipelines not only exacerbates gender inequality but also renders global climate strategies less effective. Climate change is a threat multiplier that reverses progress on gender equality, increasing rates of displacement, early marriage, and unsafe migration for women and girls. To achieve the integrated agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 and SDG 13, a fundamental reorientation of climate finance is imperative.

Recommendations for Global Policymakers

1. Adopt Direct Funding Mechanisms: Earmark and channel a significant portion of climate funds directly to women-led and women’s rights organizations operating at the community level.
2. Reform Institutional Practices: Mandate that global climate funds simplify application processes and remove bureaucratic barriers that prevent access for smaller, grassroots groups, thereby strengthening institutional justice (SDG 16).
3. Prioritize Women’s Leadership: Ensure women from frontline communities are included in decision-making bodies for climate finance allocation and policy development, in line with the principles of SDG 5 and SDG 10.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality – The article’s central theme is the disparity in climate funding for women and the need to empower women-led organizations. It argues that women are on the frontlines of climate action but are excluded from decision-making and financial resources, which directly relates to achieving gender equality.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The article is framed around the response to the climate crisis, discussing climate disasters like Cyclone Freddy and Cyclone Idai, the need for effective climate remedies, and the role of global climate finance mechanisms. It calls for urgent action to support community-led climate solutions.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – The text highlights the severe inequality in the distribution of climate finance, where less than one percent reaches frontline communities and a fraction of that goes to women’s projects. It also discusses the marginalization of Indigenous groups, such as the Ceibo Alliance, and the patriarchal structures in large institutions that perpetuate these inequalities.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – The article critiques existing global funding partnerships and mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund and Global Environmental Facility. It advocates for new partnership models, exemplified by the Jane Fonda Gender and Climate Justice Fund, which prioritize direct funding and trust-based relationships with grassroots organizations to achieve climate and gender justice goals.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
   • The article explicitly states that patriarchy in large institutions “determines who gets to sit at the decision-making table.” It advocates for resourcing women on the frontlines, arguing they have the most effective responses and their leadership should be recognized and supported, not overlooked by global funding systems.
2. Target 5.c: Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.
   • The article calls for a fundamental shift in how climate finance is distributed, moving away from “top-heavy structures” to models that “fund women directly.” The creation of the Jane Fonda Gender and Climate Justice Fund is presented as a policy and operational model to correct the systemic imbalance and empower women.
3. Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
   • The article provides concrete examples of women strengthening community resilience after climate disasters. After Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe, women were the first responders, “rebuilding homes, caring for families and replanting fields,” and organizing care to keep communities from collapsing, thereby demonstrating and building adaptive capacity.
4. Target 13.b: Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.
   • The entire article is a plea to build the capacity of women and local communities. It argues that women on the frontline “know that the most effective responses come from within communities” but are invisible to global funding systems. Funding them directly is proposed as the key mechanism to enhance effective, localized climate change management.
5. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
   • The article directly addresses the economic and political exclusion of women and Indigenous communities from climate finance. It highlights that these groups are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis but receive almost no funding, preventing their full inclusion in climate solutions. The support for the Ceibo Alliance, which unites four Indigenous nations, is a specific example of promoting inclusion.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Explicit Indicator: The article provides precise statistics that can be used as indicators to measure the distribution of climate finance.
  • “Less than one percent of climate finance globally reaches such communities.” This can be framed as an indicator: Proportion of total climate finance disbursed to local frontline communities.
  • “A mere 0.2 percent of foundation funding supports women’s environmental projects.” This serves as another indicator: Proportion of philanthropic funding directed to women-led environmental initiatives.
• Implied Indicator: The article implies other ways to measure progress by advocating for a new funding model.
  • The amount of funding that flows directly to grassroots organizations without passing through multiple large intermediaries. This can be measured as: Volume of direct financial transfers to women-led and community-based climate organizations.
  • The number of funds and financial mechanisms that operate on a trust-based, direct-funding model. This can be measured as: Number of climate funds established to directly resource frontline women’s groups.

4. Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: passblue.com