Current global temperatures are 1.1°C higher than pre-industrial levels, causing increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Record-breaking temperatures have triggered public health emergencies, raised heat-related mortality rates, damaged forests and crops, and heightened infrastructure risks. The lack of affordable and accessible cooling solutions further compounds these challenges, especially for vulnerable groups. The Chilling Prospects Special: Gender and Access to Cooling reveals that women are 1.6 times more at risk than men of lacking access to cooling.
Gaps in disaggregated data on gender-differentiated needs impede the development of policies for equitable access to cooling. While efforts to improve sustainable access to cooling have increased across sectors, few adequately address women’s unique adaptation needs and leverage their knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of the interventions. BASE has been developing a toolkit, mainly through the Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant project, to mainstream gender in climate finance projects. The project aims to increase smallholder access to cooling, reduce postharvest losses, and enhance incomes.
BASE and SEforALL invite cooling companies, practitioners, and policymakers in cooling, climate change, adaptation, and equitable energy transition to join this webinar. By exploring data gaps and needs from diverse perspectives, the discussion aims to identify the necessary data collection methods and types to advance our shared objective of universal access to cooling.
Speakers
Perry Hewitt is the Chief Marketing and Product Officer of data.org where she oversees the marketing and communications functions, as well as digital product development.
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