Dear Deputy Minister Çavdarbasha,

Dear Ms. Gomes, 

Dear participants,

I would like to thank you for joining us today to discuss ways in which we can together promote inclusive and gender-responsive climate action.

This initiative is part of the Healthier Kosovo project, a joint UN project financed by the Government of Luxembourg and implemented by UNDP and WHO, and it is the first of the three roundtable discussion that we are organizing with the intent of bringing together diverse stakeholders and extracting good examples and recommendations on how to best integrate gender perspective to the climate agenda for Kosovo – so thank you for being part of this discussion! 

Our planet is getting warmer because of human activity. Earth’s average temperature has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the late 1800s with most of this change taking place in the late 20^th century. Western Balkans is not an exception, the temperature in the WB6 countries has also increased by 1.2 degrees as compared to mid-20th century. Current estimations show that Western Balkans will experience an intrusion of sub-tropical weather to the north and will be impacted by an increase in heat waves, dry days, and extreme precipitation. These events are expected to have detrimental impacts on agriculture by threatening food quality and availability. There will be a risk of deforestation due to wildfires and flash floods. In addition, the availability of drinking water will be impacted by the absence of snow as well as heavy rainfalls.  

The threats from climate change are imminent and impacting our lives already. Climate action requires that we act on mitigating climate change and on strengthening our capabilities to respond to its adverse effects.

Climate change will impact regions and people differently, with the poor and marginalized groups being mostly affected due to the already prevailing social inequalities. Those who live on poverty, tend to largely rely on agriculture for survival. Extreme weather events impact crop yields and can have a detrimental impact on their livelihoods. Women tend to be poorer than men. In 2022, it is expected that 388 million women and girls will be living in extreme poverty as compared to 372 million men and boys. Rigid gender and social norms still prevent women from enjoying equal access to economic resources and education. Women are also less likely to be involved in decision-making within the household and larger communities. As a result, their needs and perspectives are often overlooked when it comes to climate policy design and intervention. This is unfortunate because such policies not only fail to deliver for half of our society, but they also omit valuable insights and knowledge that women possess in this area. 

Climate Agenda needs an integrated gender perspective. The gender perspective must be embedded in climate action to strengthen the effectiveness of green transition initiatives within the labour market and the energy, transport, construction, and food-producing sectors. This includes promoting equal access in decision-making processes on climate action to gain the important contributions of underrepresented people and women in their wide diversity, as experts, decision-makers, consumers, careers, educators, and stakeholders. But also, to ensure inclusive green jobs and educational opportunities, focusing on reducing the vertical and horizontal gender segregation in the labour market, especially in STEM education and employment – which is something UNDP in Kosovo is also working. 

UNDP is at forefront of global efforts to help developing countries to combat climate change and respond to its consequences. From 2008 onwards, UNDP has supported more than 140 countries to access more than $2.8 billion in grant finance to develop and implement climate change initiatives. Over 80% of our climate change programmes contribute to gender equality and empowerment of women. In Kosovo, we are supporting the municipalities of Prizren and Suharekë/Suva Reka in their climate action with strong integration of gender perspective in the process. And today we also have here a colleague from North Macedonia who will share their great work and how they tackled gender perspective in their Climate Agenda. 

Our goal is to work closely with governments, stakeholders, and the community to ensure gender-responsive climate action. We are happy to draw on this experience and to assist Kosovo institutions in their efforts to integrate gender perspectives in policy making and programmes. It is only through this integration that we are able to ensure improved well-being for all members of our society irrespective of their gender. We are happy to see that Kosovo Government has established the Kosovo Climate Change Council. This shows commitment to push forward the implementation of the Green Agenda in an inclusive and gender-responsive manner. UNDP is pleased to offer its support for the Council’s technical secretariat.  We look forward to cooperating with key institutions and stakeholders in Kosovo Government as well as with other organizations in ensuring an inclusive and gender-responsive climate action.   

Thank you