South Asia Women in Energy (SAWIE), in partnership with United States Agency for International Development and South Asia Regional Energy Hub (SAREH), hosted “Demystifying the Gender, Energy and Environment Nexus” – a webinar to mark World Environment Day 2022. The event was held on June 10, 2022, from 15:00-16:30 IST (+5.30 GMT) | 15:30-17:00 BDT (+6.00 GMT) | 17:30 – 19:00 PHT (GMT + 8 hours).
Evidence shows that on a mass scale, cutting-edge technology alone doesn’t have the positive impact it is designed to have if it isn’t inclusive in its design, inception and deployment. When gender equality and social inclusion are omitted from energy planning and access, the environmental and social costs are high.
Various actors can act as sectoral influencers on gender and inclusion. Utilities, financing agencies, academic experts, and entrepreneurs are different spokes to the same wheel. Their approaches are varied, and their success stories are a testimony to the benefits the energy sector and environment gains from improved inclusion and gender.
This webinar brought together experts from multilateral agencies, regional academia, and the private sector to highlight the inter-related issues or wicked problems that emerge with inequitable access to energy and its subsequent consequences on gender and the environment. They presented their unique solution-oriented approaches and a host of lively exchange of insights and experiences.
Some of the key highlights that emerged were:
Futuristic perspectives were introduced by the Bangladeshi representative who encouraged including women in the design and deployment of climate-friendly technology, renewable energy, and decarbonization