Scaling Up Climate Finance for Community Rights and Gender Equality

The session explored the intersection of climate finance, community rights, and gender equality, addressing the current state and future potential of financial mechanisms supporting Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local communities, particularly women’s groups. A comprehensive overview of the global climate finance landscape set the stage for a roundtable discussion, where experts delved into pressing issues regarding tenure rights and equitable access to climate funding. New evidence was presented on the statutory recognition of forest tenure rights for communities and community women across 35 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, revealing both progress and persistent gaps. Strategic advocacy emerged as a focal point, with case studies highlighting how grassroots women’s organizations are effectively lobbying for direct access to climate finance, underlining the inclusion of Afro-descendant Peoples in these efforts. The discussion also introduced CLARIFI as a tool to enhance targeted funding, aiming to streamline access to resources for local communities, while maintaining the flexibility needed to address specific contexts. A comparative analysis of voluntary standards highlighted the potential of the Land Rights Standard to fill existing gaps in safeguarding community rights within financial frameworks. Additionally, transparency challenges in climate finance were addressed through the introduction of a new interactive dashboard, designed to monitor funding flows to Indigenous, local, and women’s groups. The session underscored the importance of accountability, inclusivity, and tailored financing in achieving sustainable climate outcomes, emphasizing that financial mechanisms must evolve to meet the needs of diverse communities and uphold equitable standards.


This resource has been made available by the organizers of the World Bank Land Conference under the following disclaimer.