Our rapidly growing world is facing the greatest resource pressures in history. With the global population expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, the increasing demands for energy - necessary for poverty alleviation and growth - are being met with calls for sustainable consumption and environmental consideration of finite resources (UN, 2015).

The landmark achievements of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the new Sustainable Development Goals underscore 2015 as a momentous year for global progress toward international, collaborative efforts that support human development and sustainability.

Across high-level processes and at the local level, the pivotal experiences of women - as those most vulnerable to energy poverty and as the ones predominantly responsible for household energy provision make gender a key, yet often overlooked, consideration in the development of sustainable solutions in these areas.