Recommendation 14

HM Government Accepted in Part

Government Response: Partially agree 29. The FCDO recognises that women’s participation and leadership is crucial to the success of community energy projects and achieving SDG7. In line with the International Development Act (Gender Equality Act) 2014, we promote gender equality in all our ODA interventions. 30. The FCDO’s policies on GEDSI apply to all programming and are included in programme guidelines to ensure compatibility with the International Development Act 2014 Gender Amendment. These principles are integrated into programme design and monitored through the Annual Review process, which evaluates programmes on their ability to incorporate GEDSI considerations. This ensures that gender equality and inclusion are not treated as standalone objectives but as core components of FCDO’s energy interventions. 31. Specifically for Energy Access programmes, flagship initiatives such as TEA and MECS already incorporate gender-focused approaches to promote women’s leadership and participation. This is appropriate given the very strong connection between the impacts of dirty cooking and the lives of women struggling with the burden of firewood and charcoal cooking. TEA was highlighted as a case study in the GEDSI Guidance Note for effectively integrating GEDSI strategies to empower women in the clean energy sector through training, master’s programmes and work placements. MECS is classified as a principal Gender programme under the OECD DAC Gender Equality Policy Marker, reflecting its strong focus on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the energy access sector. The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme also works to ensure the inclusion of the specific needs of women and vulnerable groups in energy planning, at both national and community scales, engaging with planning authorities in support of inclusive policy and process. 32. As a result of the ICF GEDSI guidance note, all new UK climate programmes are required to be empowering for women and girls, and the ambition is for more programmes to be transformative. This means they actively address the unequal power relations that hold women back as agents of change, seeking institutional and societal change to enable their agency. 33. At this stage, we are unable to commit to reporting on the extent to which the recommendations of the GEDSI guidance note are implemented by June 2026. There is currently no established reporting mechanism; we will consider future reporting depending on future resourcing beyond FY25/26 commitments.