Gender mainstreaming in the energy sector is taking place from national policies, to institutional reforms and project development, increasing energy access and providing low emission development pathways for many around the world. It has been a central pillar of the commitments towards achieving universal access to modern energy and recognized as a cornerstone within the Sustainable Development Goals. Efforts at integrating gender considerations into climate change and the renewable energy sector have advanced over the years, with most of this progress taking place in small scale, community-based projects.

However, 2015 has seen an important shift towards the increasing gender mainstreaming in mitigation initiatives, with an in-session workshop on gender-responsive mitigation and technology development and transfer technical workshop and close to 40 percent of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) referencing women and gender as key considerations for implementation of activities. With energy production and consumption accounting for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions, relying on low-carbon (emission) energy sources, renewable energy options, and energy efficiency will be necessary in order to achieve both environmental protection and support the achievement of socio-economic goals, including gender equality.