EmPower II: Women for Climate Resili-ent Societies

Across Asia and the Pacific, environmental degradation, recurring disasters, climate-induced hazards and shifting weather patterns increasingly undermine development gains. Since 2018, EmPower: Women for Climate-Resilient Societies has worked to strengthen climate-resilient development for women and marginalized people across the Asia-Pacific region. It answers to the evidence showing that climate and disaster vulnerability in Asia-Pacific is closely linked to persistent social and economic inequalities. Women and marginalized groups often face higher exposure to climate risks because they have less secure access to finance, information, technology, assets, formal employment and decision-making spaces. Key gaps remain in gender-responsive climate governance, inclusive financial and climate services, sex-disaggregated data, safeguards and accountability mechanisms

In 2023 the programme expanded from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Viet nam to Indonesia and the Philippines and broadened regional engagement.

Women entrepreneurs and women-led small and medium-sized enterprises, Women’s rights organizations and CSOs, Youth, and marginalized groups such as ethnic minorities, Indigenous groups, LGBTQ, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, people living with disabilities,

National and subnational government agencies, private sector and financial institutions, Intergovernmental organizations

Outcome 1: Regional and national actors are strengthened to plan and implement gender-responsive climate change, renewable energy, and DRR policies.

Outcome 2: Women in all their diversity and other marginalised groups are represented as key environmental actors in climate and DRR decision-making.

Outcome 3: Women and other marginalised groups in Asia-Pacific secure climate-resilient livelihoods.

Expected results:   Over the final 18 months, the programme will produce practical policy and planning outputs, including gender-responsive guidance, action plans, monitoring frameworks and climate/DRR data products. It will establish or strengthen platforms for women, CSOs and marginalized groups to engage in climate, renewable energy and DRR decision-making and deliver financing pipelines, investment mechanisms, business support packages and market linkages for women-led and inclusive clean technology and climate-resilient livelihood initiatives.

Results from previous phases:  

By the end of 2025, the programme had strengthened the capacities of over 4,600 policymakers, practitioners and financial sector actors on gender-responsive climate action, and supported the development or strengthening of 29 policies, roadmaps and action plans. More than 260 civil society organizations participated in climate policy dialogues, while 10,300 women received technical and financial training on climate-resilient technologies and renewable energy. In addition, USD 53.8 million in gender-responsive climate finance was mobilized, benefiting over 22,600 women-led nano-, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The programme also strengthened subnational gender-disaggregated data collection for disaster risk reduction, contributing to improved evidence-based planning. This work was reflected in two subnational planning documents and institutionalized through a subnational disaster data forum.

• In Cambodia: RECOFTC (supporting the development of National Gender Strategic Plan for Cambodian Ministry of Women Affairs); NURTURE (climate-resilient agriculture and green financing)
• In Bangladesh: Access 2 Green Finance for Enterprises (2024-2035).
• In the Pacific region, UN-Women implements the “Global Gender Equality Accelerator” for women leadership and gender-responsiveness in global disaster risk reduction and climate change processes and frameworks.