by Katherine H. Lucey
Originally published in On Thin Ice, A guide for philanthropists and changemakers to address climate change, produced by UBS, June 5th, 2022
Why does Solar Sister focus on the link between women’s empowerment, energy poverty, and climate change?
Climate change is a justice issue.
Its impacts fall most heavily on the most vulnerable. While the impacts of climate change touch everyone, research shows they hit women and girls hardest. That disproportionate effect is due to existing vulnerabilities, a lack of economic opportunities, and a higher dependence on natural resources for their livelihoods and survival.
But women are not destined to be victims. Across the globe, women play an essential role in tackling climate change, including the daily choices that drive positive actions and impact. In communities in sub-Saharan Africa, where 600 million people still lack access to electricity, women manage the household energy choices. That can be anything from replacing a kerosene lamp with solar technology to cooking over a more efficient cookstove. When women control resources, they’re more likely than men to use them to protect their families’ health and finances. As Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and renowned climate activist says, “Climate change is a man-made problem with feminist solutions.”
How do you address climate justice?
It’s one of the most powerful insights from our work at Solar Sister – that by opening up economic opportunities for women and honoring their wisdom, we positively impact women, their families, communities, and the wider world.
When women have more agency, they make better choices, including when caring for their families and communities. When they have their own income, they invest in better education for their children and healthcare for themselves and their families, and accumulate savings to build resilience.“
Katherine Lucey, CEO, Solar Sister
For example, Nanbet is a young maize farmer and single mum raising five children in a rural Nigerian village with no electricity. There are no power lines there, but there is power. And it’s Nanbet who is bringing it. She’s one of the 6,000 entrepreneurs (83% are women) we’ve trained and supported to run clean energy technology businesses. These entrepreneurs have reached three million people across Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria with solar power and clean cookstoves.
Since Nanbet started her business, she’s brought in enough income to stop laboring on other people’s farms. She buys soap and clothes for her children and says people see her differently. At the same time, she’s fighting climate change and lowering household air pollution by convincing her customers to switch from harmful kerosene lamps and cookstoves to clean alternatives.
Local women are enterprising, creative, and committed to improving the well-being of their families and communities. Centering women as leaders in the growing clean energy sector is essential to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable solutions to the climate crisis and many development issues.
This is why Solar Sister invests in women’s leadership and enterprise in off-grid communities. By engaging with women who deeply understand their communities, Solar Sister reaches people who have been missed by business-as-usual energy models.
How can philanthropy do more?
Only an estimated 0.2% of philanthropic funds go toward women and the environment. Let’s see if we can nudge that number upward.
Renewable energy is the golden thread connecting economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Access to energy shouldn’t just be for the wealthy. Everyone deserves access to clean energy, for their own well-being and the good of the planet.
On thin ice combines the expertise of more than 40 climate experts, philanthropists, and changemakers with UBS´s twenty-plus years of experience in advising clients on making an effective impact. Find out how you can make a difference.