Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards

Launched in 2015 by the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards honour the fundamental contribution of women to the fight against climate change and demonstrates the relevance of integrating gender equality in all climate policies. These solutions play a significant role in ensuring the climate resilience of communities and territories while also showing the way to a fair and inclusive implementation of the Paris Agreement and keeping to the collective 1.5°C warming limit above pre-industrial levels.

Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF), as part of the WGC, coordinates the Gender Just Climate Solutions Awards every year at the climate COPs. This celebration includes the participation of high-level personalities, such as representatives of UNFCCC parties and constituted bodies, UN agencies, and civil society organizations. 

At the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference (COP 27) on 14 November 2022, three representatives of the 2022 award-winning organizations accepted the honours in front of government, UN, and civil society members. All past award winners were also invited—as every year—to raise their voices at the COP and show how they have been able to upscale their activities with the support of the WGC. This year’s award recipients are:

• The Keystone Foundation, India, won the Transformational Solutions Award for its work with Indigenous women to link Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with modern scientific methods to observe and monitor climate impacts, generating data to inform policy making. The award was accepted by Bhavya George.
• Sindh Community Foundation, Pakistan, won the Non-Technical Solutions Award for supporting the demands of women agriculture workers—particularly cotton pickers—for better working conditions and health services in response to rising temperatures. The award was accepted by Javed Hussain.
• Yokoumi, Togo, won the Technical Solutions Award for work to decarbonize the sheabutter value chain, by installing a photovoltaic solar plant to power its mill and generate electricity for the local community, as well as investing in individual improved stoves to further reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and biomass. The award was accepted by Delali Adjeje.

A new online publication, available in several languages, details a number of the 259 submissions received for the 2022 awards.