- International legal and climate experts urged stronger integration of women into clean energy policy at an ILA Nigeria workshop.
- Speakers called for targeted reforms, financing, STEM education, and inclusive leadership to empower women.
International legal experts and climate advocates have called for stronger integration of women into clean energy policy-making and implementation, warning that gender equality is essential to achieving a just and inclusive energy transition in the Global South.
The call came during an online workshop hosted by the Committee on Women, International Law and Development of the International Law Association (ILA) Nigeria, titled Energy for All: Bridging Gender Gaps in the Green Transition. The event also launched a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy on Gender Justice and Energy Transition in the Global South, co-edited by Dr. Pedi Obani and Dr. Adenike Akinsemolu.
Furthermore, moderated by Committee Vice Chair Titilope Akosa, the webinar featured contributions from ILA Nigeria President Prof. Damilola Olawuyi (SAN); former Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change Secretariat Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe; and FCMB’s Head of Renewable Energy Unit Ms. Chinma George, alongside other academic speakers.
Dr. Obani, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Bradford, said women in Nigeria and the wider Global South bear the greatest burden of energy poverty yet remain key drivers of sustainable innovation. She warned that structural barriers continue to limit women’s access to resources and decision-making.
Prof. Olawuyi, delivering the keynote, criticised the underrepresentation of women in the energy sector leadership and cautioned against replicating the pattern in the green transition. He identified five justice dimensions, cosmopolitan, procedural, reparative, social, and distributive, as crucial for gender-aware policy.
“There is a clear and urgent need to mainstream a gender perspective in clean energy transition programmes and policies,” Olawuyi said, calling for tailored financing, technology access, training, and green entrepreneurship support for women.
Dr. Maduekwe noted that women account for over 70% of off-grid energy users but often remain invisible in climate policy discussions. She advocated increased STEM education for girls, gender-focused legal reforms, and inclusive climate storytelling.
From the financial sector, Ms. George highlighted FCMB’s zero-interest green loans, financial literacy programmes, and partnerships designed to close the gender gap in energy access and leadership.
Panellists also urged collecting disaggregated data, training policymakers in gender analysis, offering seed grants for women’s climate research, and embedding gender equity in constitutional and policy frameworks.
ILA Nigeria, part of the International Law Association, founded in 1873, continues to drive dialogue, capacity building, and research across key global issues through its thematic committees.