Gender Responsive Projects in Cooling

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(Paris)

The Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning, and Heat-pumps sector (RACHP) has an increasing role in ensuring sustainable livelihoods, including safe access to food and health. There is an increasing demand for engineers and technicians in the profession. Therefore, there is a need to attract the young generation into the industry, promoting access for women.  

In a webinar hosted by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) last December 13, 2024, experts called for integrating gender-sensitive policies into cooling projects, highlighting how women are disproportionately impacted by climate challenges like heat stress and energy poverty. The session brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and gender advocates, all urging for a shift in how cooling solutions are designed, funded, and implemented.

Purpose and Objectives 

  • Raise awareness on gender-based vulnerabilities related to access to cooling in the context of climate change.
  • Explore solutions for mainstreaming gender equality into policies and investment for sustainable cooling.
  • Highlight actionable steps and successful case studies from the MLF and other funding mechanisms that demonstrate gender-transformative approaches to cooling.
  • Discuss opportunities for countries to engage in CCAC’s 2025 EOI to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) through gender-sensitive cooling projects. 

    Download the presentation slides here.

Highlights

“Climate change and air pollution are not gender-neutral,” said Dana Crawhall-Duk, CCAC’s Gender Strategy representative. “Women face greater risks and burdens, but they also bring untapped potential for solutions.”

The CCAC’s Gender Strategy, launched at COP28, aims to mainstream gender considerations across all its programs, focusing on projects that combat short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). These pollutants, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), contribute significantly to both global warming and air pollution.  

 

Bridging the Gender Gap


Rossana Del Carmen Silva-Repetto

Deputy Chief Officer of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, painted a stark picture of gender disparity in the cooling sector. Women’s participation ranges from just 8% to 30% globally, with many countries reporting even lower numbers.

But efforts to close the gap are gaining traction. Silva-Repetto highlighted new initiatives, including awareness campaigns to attract women to refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) careers, scholarships for female students, and quotas for training programs.

In Senegal, for instance, 31% of RAC trainees are now women, and the country boasts a women-only RAC technicians’ association with over 150 members. Similarly, Bhutan has begun certifying female technicians in its RAC sector, and one country has implemented a groundbreaking quota mandating 50 percent female participation in RAC training.

“These aren’t just policies,” Silva-Repetto said. “They’re lifelines to ensure women can participate fully in the green economy.”

However, she noted that the impacts of these programs are still emerging. A comprehensive assessment of their success is expected in 2026. 

Tackling Structural Barriers 

Bettina Schreck 

The webinar also tackled the deep-rooted barriers women face in entering the sector. Bettina Schreck, an independent consultant with HEAT GmbH, described how societal norms often confine women to care roles, limiting their opportunities in technical fields.

Schreck pointed to the importance of role models and unconscious bias training to challenge these stereotypes. She shared the stories of multiple countries, including Mexico, where women in RAC leadership roles pledged to mentor and recruit more women into the field.

“Even women in the sector sometimes perpetuate the belief that ‘this isn’t a job for us,’” Schreck said. “Breaking that cycle requires deliberate effort.”

Countries are also addressing practical barriers. In one case, training programs for women now include childcare services and transportation allowances. Another project is funding specialised protective equipment, such as smaller gloves and goggles, tailored to women technicians. 
 

A Broader Perspective

The challenges go beyond professional inclusion. Giorgia Pasqualetto, a senior officer at Sustainable Energy for All, noted that over 1.12 billion people globally lack access to adequate cooling solutions, and women make up 53 percent of this at-risk population.

In urban slums, where women are overrepresented, the lack of cooling infrastructure exacerbates vulnerabilities to heatwaves and food insecurity. Pasqualetto called for a dual approach: increasing women’s participation in the cooling workforce while addressing their specific needs as consumers.

“We can’t just design solutions for women,” she said. “We need women shaping those solutions.” 

What’s Next?

As the session closed, Makoto Kato, Co-Chair of the CCAC Cooling Hub, encouraged countries to apply for the CCAC’s 2025 Expression of Interest process, emphasizing funding to implement gender-sensitive cooling projects. With a January 31 deadline for proposals, the coalition is poised to continue supporting gender-concious transformative action in 2025.

The push to mainstream gender in cooling reflects a larger truth: sustainable solutions can only be achieved when they work for everyone. As Silva-Repetto put it, “If we leave women out of this equation, we’re missing half the potential for progress.”

Our Speakers  


Rossana Del Carmen Silva-Repetto 

Rossana Silva Repetto is the Deputy Chief Officer of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Previously, she served as the first Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, where she established the Secretariat and successfully organized two COPs. With extensive experience at UNEP, she held roles such as Senior Legal Adviser, Regional Seas Programme Legal Adviser, and Latin America and Caribbean Environmental Law Programme Coordinator. Rossana also worked at FAO on legal frameworks for hazardous chemicals and pesticides, and served as a professor and adviser in Peru. She holds law and political science degrees from the University of Lima, a Master’s in Law from the University of Leuven, and a Master’s from the Alcide de Gasperi Post-graduate Institute.

Bettina Schreck  

Bettina Schreck is an independent consultant specializing in environmental sustainability and affiliated with HEAT GmbH. She served as a Programme Officer at UNIDO from 2009 to 2023, managing energy, climate change, and environmental projects, and was appointed Gender Officer in 2022. Certified as a Gender Auditor by the ILO in 2023, Bettina previously worked in the private energy sector with ESBI in Ireland and Repsol in Spain. She holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires and a Master’s in Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge. 

Giorgia Pasqualetto 

Senior Officer, Energy Efficiency and Cooling, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). She has co-led  the analysis and production in the 2023 Chilling Prospects Special report on Cooling and Gender. Giorgia is a sustainable energy and international development professional, with over 8 years of experience. Prior to joining SEforALL, she worked in strategic planning and engagement with the G20 at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and consulted in programmes promoting industrial energy efficiency in Latin American and Eastern European countries. Giorgia has a background in energy engineering and energy policy. 

CCAC Webinar Series for Gender Mainstreaming

This webinar was part of CCAC Webinar Series for Gender Mainstreaming. For climate and clean air initiatives to succeed, women and girls who are disproportionately impacted must be at the core of solutions. At COP27, the CCAC launched its first Gender Strategy with the aim of mainstreaming gender considerations into every area of its work.  

This new webinar series will tackle one SLCP sector at a time, breaking down key gender considerations and opportunities to develop better, more sustainable plans and policies in discussion with sector and gender experts, NGOs, and country partners.  

This series also seeks to inform and inspire implementers or potential implementers of CCAC-funded projects on opportunities to develop gender-responsive projects, a requirement of CCAC funding as of 2023.

 

Event resources