We would like to recognize the key role that energy plays in promoting health, safety, education and economic opportunity for women and girls around the globe. United Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), which was launched in 2011, recognizes the importance of the relationship between gender and energy. According to SE4All CEO Rachel Kyte, “The energy transition that we are embarking on and the challenge of responding to climate change need the whole of our collective intelligence and ingenuity if we are to succeed. Women as consumers, heads of household, professionals, pension holders, voters, investors, elected officials are a critical part of the diversity of perspectives we need at the table to make smart, long term decisions. With women in the room, at the table, we will make different decisions. We need different decisions.”
How does a lack of modern energy impact women? Kyte, for example, highlights that “A lack of clean, affordable energy has a particular impact on women. Searching for fuel takes up hours in a day, dirty fuel imperils their health and that of their children. So it’s good to see so many women at the forefront of the solutions to bring clean, affordable energy to all. We need finance and policy to catch up with technology and women will need to make sure we leave no one behind.” Although cooking fuel is one important issue, something as simple as providing lighting in community areas can also help women.
In order to understand how modern energy can transform women’s lives, let’s look at a simple and innovative new initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean that promotes the goals of SE4All in the Americas.
“Light Up Your Life” is a joint IDB and Philips initiative to provide sustainable lighting for community centers in 20 communities Peru, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. This energy project will benefit women and girls in several concrete ways. It will provide public lighting employing the latest generation technologies such as LED and, when applicable, photovoltaic solar energy at these community centers, which include soccer fields and amphitheaters, creating a safe environment for women and girls to pursue sports, educational, and business opportunities. Given that 24% of the population in Latin America believes that crime is the most important issue facing the region, it is necessary to develop programs like “Light Up Your Life” to create safer public spaces where women are less likely to experience harassment. “Light Up Your Life” provides public spaces where women can participate in sports and be more integrated into public life, and the community lighting centers can be used for festivals and other community events where women can launch small businesses selling arts, crafts, or other handmade goods.
By providing access to modern, sustainable energy to communities, projects like “Light Up Your Life” help empower women. On this day when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievement of women, it is important to recognize the role of energy and to support projects that work towards a more sustainable and equitable future.
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