Women are central to climate adaptation sectors as primary managers of natural resources, key actors in local economies, and decision-makers in household resilience, yet structural inequalities heighten their climate vulnerability. Their inclusion in climate investments is therefore critical to both effective adaptation and stronger development and financial outcomes.
Blended finance has emerged as an important mechanism for mobilizing capital toward climate solutions in emerging markets and developing economies and helping develop investment vehicles to integrate gender considerations into climate solutions. Gender-responsive climate investments, however, remain a relatively small share of the broader climate blended finance market; only a quarter of all climate blended finance transactions explicitly incorporate gender-responsive components. This reflects both the nascency of the market and the continued need for catalytic capital, improved measurement frameworks, and ecosystem support to scale gender-responsive climate investments.
This brief explores the use of blended finance for gender-responsive adaptation, providing a sector overview and analyzing transactions within Convergence Market Data, while drawing insights from interviews with investors and practitioners.
