Climate change impacts are expected to change many aspects of daily life. Climatic events particularly impact vulnerable groups, including women.  Around 80% of refugees are women, and women are 14 times more likely to die in a natural disaster than men. These impacts are exacerbated by pre-existing inequality issues, such as lack of financial independence and social and cultural constructs. The Paris Agreement on climate change has listed gender as a priority to be considered in climate action, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has a Gender Action Plan (GAP) to lead the multilateral process, as well as countries, into more gender-responsive mitigation and adaptation measures.  

To assess Lebanon’s situation in climate and gender-responsiveness as well as to provide recommendations for improvement, the UNDP and Ministry of Environment have undertaken a gender and climate change project as part of the UNDP Nationally Determined Contribution Support Programme (NDCSP), and in collaboration with the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW).

The Lebanon Gender Analysis provides a baseline analysis of gender equality and balance, and how they affect women’s ability to combat climate change, making the distinction between rural and urban populations as their vulnerabilities differ. This analysis also provides the level of gender-responsiveness in climate-relevant policies, and what would be the priority ministerial strategies for improved gender integration. Detailed recommendations for next steps are also provided, shedding the light on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to Integrate Gender into Climate-Relevant Policies and Strategies.