Regional : Harnessing Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives to Benefit Women

Energy / Energy efficiency and conservation

Water and other urban infrastructure and services / Urban policy, institutional and capacity development - Urban solid waste management

The RETA supports human resource and technical capacity development for implementing agencies to integrate gender analysis in national/sub-national climate change policy frameworks, strategies, and action plans and screening of emission reduction projects; for women's groups to gain co-benefits from appropriate emissions reductions technologies; and national/sub-national ministries/agencies supporting gender mainstreaming to engage in and promote more equitable benefit distribution of climate change projects and finance in dialogue with government agencies managing national climate change responses. The RETA builds on existing donor partner and/or private sector investments and NGO interventions by piloting a model to develop low carbon technology projects linked to gender-equality benefits. It will demonstrate how climate financing can provide benefits to women for their contributions to GHG reductions in addition to productive industries. The RETA complements existing interventions by providing them with focused support to engage women's groups as agents of change and access climate finance.

Host projects, private sector companies, and national programs which serve as anchors for the RETA. These include Light Engineering Solutions and African Clean Energy Limited in Cambodia, SNV's Improved Cook Stove National Program, Lao Disabled Women's Development Center, and Association for Rural Mobilization and Improvement in Lao PDR, and the National Biogas Program in Vietnam. This TA will go further by building stronger implementation partners at the local level in women's groups as well as supporting these groups to access climate financing. ADB will increase development impact and benefit shares for women to the existing clean energy value chains son several levels. These include: (1) support policy level engagement through bringing stakeholders together and supporting ministries mandated to oversee climate change responses to create a better enabling environment for projects with gender responsive sustainable development impacts; (2) inform principles and rules of revenue sharing from climate finance projects; (3) mobilize women's participation through support to women-led SMEs along the clean energy value chain; and (4) incorporation of successful elements in replication as national and sub-national programs are scaled up. Support provided will develop baselines and monitoring schemes which show concrete emissions reductions, making projects eligible for climate finance. The climate mitigation components will complement environmental improvements planned by the host projects and increase their financial sustainability. Design of pilot projects to be implemented by women's group will increase social inclusion and gender benefits.

The governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam have prioritized poverty reduction and environmental management in their medium term strategic plans. In parallel, ADB has prioritized addressing social inclusion and climate change in operations. The RETA directly responds to three of the five strategic thrusts outlined in the GMS Strategic Framework; Develop human resources and skill competencies; Protect the environment and promote sustainable use of natural resources; and Enhance private sector participation and improve competitiveness. The strategic framework recognizes the need to take action on climate change mitigation through reducing carbon emissions and rewarding carbon sinks.

Climate Change Impacts are not Gender Neutral

Rising incidence of floods, landslides, drought, urban pollution, and depleting natural resources linked to climate change impacts has been observed in Southeast Asia. Climate change impacts are not gender neutral: Addressing poverty and climate change concerns cannot be undertaken without an understanding of gender differentiated rights, roles, and responsibilities of women and men. In the face of seasonal and/or catastrophic climate change events, women are less equipped to respond, due to gender roles, and often face the brunt of these events. Women and girls have disproportionately lower access to employment and income generating opportunities (limited education and skills base, lack of access to capital and markets); and socioeconomic status (lacking legal protection and ownership rights). In addition, the provision of services (clean water, waste management, household energy) and exposure to environmental hazards (reproductive work position women closer to unsafe environments) are linked to gender roles.

Women as Agents of Change in Promoting Climate Change Responses. Women are not simply hapless victims of climate change, but are powerful agents of change in promoting climate change responses as stewards and managers of water, fuel, and waste resources. Evidence, such as in Nepal and India, demonstrates that linkages empowering women as resource managers and entrepreneurs present a powerful strategy for addressing both local and global environment concerns. Despite this, there is an institutional gender blindness that renders women's participation and contributions invisible and for resource management to be incorrectly treated as gender neutral.

Climate change financing mechanisms neglect sustainable development concerns

As a result of the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries pledged to mobilize $30 billion per year in additional climate change financing until 2020 and $100 billion per year thereafter. Dedicated financing windows and partnerships have already been established. Despite increasing attention on low-carbon and climate resilient growth paths, social dimensions of climate change are little understood. Climate change financing mechanisms have been criticized for prioritizing greenhouse (GHG) emissions reductions over sustainable development concerns. A new generation of financial instruments, such as the Green Climate Fund,(GCF) promote a paradigm shift by linking sustainable development with climate change responses and integration social inclusion and gender as necessary to these responses. While vulnerable, resource dependent groups such as indigenous peoples are being taken into account in emerging policy discussions, gender concerns are increasingly commanding attention, as evidenced in the recent COP-21 global agreements and GCF climate financing instrument where gender mandate is included.

Capacity Development Needs

Capacity development of government authorities at the provincial and local levels is needed to capture, regulate and distribute the influx of climate change finance in an efficient and gender equitable manner. National women's ministries and agencies, mandated to promote women's empowerment and gender mainstreaming, are equally without expertise to engage in investments in technical sectors related to climate change.

Low-carbon technologies and access to climate change financing present gender co-benefits

The considerable funding mobilized under the existing climate change finance mechanisms provides opportunities for projects which integrate social inclusion and gender concerns. Climate finance projects can reduce the vulnerability of women to climate change by providing more secure livelihoods and access to modern technology while also reducing greenhouse gases. Further, women can spend less time obtaining fuel wood, have access to cleaner energy sources, clean water, and provide safe local environmental conditions.

1.Gender concerns mainstreamed in national or sub-national climate change strategies, action plans, and mitigation plans.

2. Effective mechanism supporting stakeholder engagement process and gender equitable benefit distribution identified for replication.

3. Three pilot projects successfully implemented by National Women's Groups to develop local tools and mechanisms in order to access climate financing

1. Viet Nam Dong Hoi city level Climate Change Actin Plan 2020 has been updated to include mitigation and gender elements; Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Strategic Framework in Agriculture 2016-2020 integrates climate change concerns; and in Lao PDR the national Climate Change Action Plan includes gender mainstreaming concerns.

2. Climate finance benefit distributionplans have been developed for each country; ongoing preparation of a series of policy briefs and training manuals to support replication; GCF NAMA templace and guidance brief to support preparation of gender responsive NAMAs under preparation; template/framework tool to guide proposal preparation for gender responsive climate mitigation projects under preparation.

3. Pilot investment partners, low-carbon technologies and delivery models; women's engagement in value chain have been developed into women-led SMEs. M & E plans for the 3 countries finalized.

roposed executing/implementing agency (EA/IA)

ADB is the EA.

The IAs for each country will be:

Vietnam: Quang Binh Provincial Peoples Committee Urban Environment and Development One Member Limited Company (URENCO)

Cambodia: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)

Lao PDR: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Department of Disaster Management and Climate Change (DDMCC).

As the TA will work through and add value to existing host investment projects and/or partners, government IA partners will already have undergone institutional/organizational/procurement/financial management assessments as of previous loan approval process.

ADB will administer the TA. ADB will engage the services of an international NGO in accordance with the Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (April 2010, as amended from time to time) using Quality and Cost- Based Selection for Full Technical Proposal with a Quality Cost ratio of 90:10. Disbursement under the TA will be done in accordance with ADB's Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (May 2010, amended from time to time). Any procurement activities under the TA financed by ADB will be implemented in accordance with ADBs Procurement Guidelines (April 2015, as amended from time to time). Upon completion of the TA, the assets will be turned over to the IA. Some 34 person-months of international consultancy and 84 person-months of national consulting services will be required by the R-CDTA. Expertise will be required in the following areas: (i) Regional Coordinator - 18 pm, (ii) Social Development/Gender Specialist - 6 pm, (iii) Institutional Development Specialist - 4 pm, (iv) Knowledge Hub Coordination/Climate Change Specialist - 9 pm(v) Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist - 3 pm, and (vi) Knowledge Hub Researcher - 12 pm. National Specialists will be needed as counterparts for the above positions totaling 84 pm.

LAO

The Department of Disaster Risk Management within MONRE will provide the overall coordination of the R-CDTA and ensure the participation Department of Environment Lao Women's Union (LWU); SNV; and other relevant stakeholders during R-CDTA implementation. MONRE will establish a TA Coordination Committee for Lao PDR (chaired by the Director General Department of Disaster Management) with members from the Department of Environment, LWU, SNV, and relevant stakeholders. A Project Coordination Office will be established within the Department of Disaster Management and will be managed by a National Coordinator in collaboration with the Project Advisor, engaged under the R-CDTA. The TA Coordination Committee will meet at least bi-annually or more frequently as necessary, to review and monitor project progress and approve requisite plans and budgets. The R-CDTA work plan for Lao PDR will be endorsed by the Coordination Committee before submission to ADB for final approval.

CAMBODIA

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) will be the implementing agency for the Cambodia pilot project and will provide the overall coordination of the R-CDTA and ensure the participation of other relevant stakeholders during R-CDTA implementation. The R-CDTA will pilot activities in coordination with the National Biogas Program. A Project Coordination Office will be established within MAFF and will be managed by a National Coordinator nominated by MAFF in collaboration with a Project Advisor, engaged under the R-CDTA. The TA Coordination Committee will meet at least bi-annually, or more frequently, to review and monitor project progress and approve requisite plans and budgets.

VIET NAM

Quang Binh Province Urban Environment and Development One Member Limited Company (URENCO) will be the implementing agency (IA) for the Viet Nam pilot project. Quang Binh Provincial People's Committee (QBPPC) will provide the overall coordination of the R-CDTA and ensure the participation of Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE); Department of Construction (DOC); Provincial and Dong Hoi Women's Union (VWU);

URENCO; and other relevant stakeholders during R-CDTA implementation. QBPPC will establish the R-CDTA steering committee (SC) for Viet Nam with members from the DONRE, DOC, VWU, URENCO, and relevant stakeholders. A project coordination office will be established within the QBPPC and will be managed by a national coordinator from URENCO in collaboration with the project advisor, engaged under the R-CDTA. The SC will meet at least bi-annually or more frequently as necessary, to review and monitor

project progress and approve requisite plans and budgets. The R-CDTA work plan for Viet Nam will be endorsed by the SC before submission to ADB for final approval.

Four types of consulting services are required, using 69 person-months of international consultant services and 95 person-months of national consultant services.

ADB will select and engage consultants in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2010, as amended from time to time). Disbursements under the TA will be made in accordance with ADB's Technical Assistance Disbursement Handbook (2010, as amended from time to time).