Executive Summary: Beyond Carbon – Empowering Women, Financing Adaptation

This event, hosted by WOCAN’s Executive Director Jeannette Gurung, explored how carbon finance can extend beyond emissions reduction to actively empower women and finance climate adaptation. The discussion showcased how the W+ Standard—a rigorous, third-party verified framework—quantifies and monetises women’s empowerment outcomes within climate projects, positioning women not as beneficiaries but as key climate actors.

The W+Standard: Closing the Gender Finance Gap

Jeannette Gurung highlighted that less than 0.01% of climate finance reaches women’s organisations. To address this, WOCAN created the W+ Standard, the first and only standard measuring women’s empowerment at the project level.

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Modelled after carbon credit systems, it issues W+Credits representing measurable changes across six domains: Time,Income & Assets, Knowledge & Education, Health, Food Security, andLeadership. Projects undergo independent verification, and at least 20% ofW+ revenue flows directly to women’s groups. When applied to carbon projects, dual “Carbon + W+ Credits” can be issued, combining environmental and social outcomes. The market for W+-labeled credits is projected to reach $187 million by 2030.

Case Study: SEWA Salt Farmers Project, India

Sandeep Roy Choudhury of VNV Advisory detailed how a partnership with SEWA (Self-Employed Women’s Association) replaced diesel pumps with solar ones in the Rann of Kutch salt pans. The project leveraged blended finance (IFC/World Bank and commercial loans), with carbon revenues covering loan interest, enabling near-zero-cost solar adoption.
Outcomes included

• +7.7% salt production increase
• ~71% reduction in operating costs
• ~240% rise in income    

Women reinvested profits into collective activities, amplifying community  impact. Through W+ assessments, results were independently verified under the domains of Income & Assets and Knowledge & Education, generating W+ Credits alongside carbon credits.

Building Integrity and Market Confidence

Liz from CGAP (World Bank) emphasised the potential of carbon markets—worth $10–40 Billion to exclude women if not intentionally designed for inclusion. W+provides a measurable bridge linking financial inclusion and climate outcomes.

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Key recommendations included

1. Fair pricing to reward projects delivering verified gender outcomes.
2. Investment in robust measurement systems, ensuring credibility.
3. Embedding women-centric finance models, such as digital payment systems and asset ownership in women’s names

‍From Storytelling to Evidence

The panel cautioned against superficial “empowerment” narratives.

• Jeannette underscored that WOCAN’s renewed storytelling efforts complement, not replace, rigorous measurement.
• Sandeep stressed that empowerment claims must be data-backed.
• Liz advocated moving beyond  “women trained” metrics toward quantified, verifiable impacts that attract serious investors.

Future Vision

Speakers outlined an actionable roadmap:

• CGAP (Liz): Embed gender-responsive, evidence-based practices in carbon market frameworks.
• VNV (Sandeep): Make gender and social outcome measurement mandatory.
• WOCAN (Jeannette): Train women’s organisations to lead carbon and W+ project development, shifting from “do no harm” to “doing measurable good.”

 Key Takeaway

“Beyond Carbon”reframed the narrative: climate finance can and must fund women’s leadership, not just count their participation. Through W+ Credits, women’s empowerment becomes a quantifiable, investable outcome, enabling equitable benefit sharing, verified social impact, and stronger climate resilience across communities.

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