The power of educating girls
Climate Impact
Educating girls turns out to be a powerful climate solution as ensuring girls’ education increases girls’ knowledge and awareness of their rights, leading to their empowerment and increased agency to determine the course of their own lives. For example, deciding for themselves when they marry and how many children they wish to have. Girls in school are less likely to be married off as children, less likely to have children as teenagers and more likely to manage their own sexual and reproductive health.
As seen globally, women and girls who are in control of their reproductive health and rights are much more likely to have children later in life which also boosts their chances of having healthier children. Higher educational attainment of women globally will help start bending the global population curve downwards. And, as low-income countries continue to grow their economies, global consumption-based emissions are moderated.
The endless benefits of education
The benefits of education go well beyond climate impact. Education opens up life-changing opportunities for children. For girls in low-income countries, who often have even fewer opportunities than their brothers, an education is crucial for them to empower themselves and fulfil their potential and ambition.
Education also has an incredible impact on health. As rates of child marriages and early-teen pregnancies go down, so do infant and maternal mortality rates. Educated mothers tend to be more informed about nutrition and healthcare (incl. vaccination) so their children are usually healthier.
Girls’ education strengthens economies and reduces inequalities as educated women are more likely to participate in the formal labor market. Educated girls gain the life skills necessary for them to navigate and adapt to a changing world as women, increasing their chances to contribute more to their communities and the world. With increased education levels, poverty goes down as resilient societies give all individuals - including boys and men - the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Climate Justice
Too many climate solutions implemented today do not directly benefit communities at the forefront of the climate crisis. Communities that have done the least to cause climate change continue to be the worst impacted.
Girls all around the world face inequalities that structure their marginalisation in society. Climate change is a threat multiplier that increases their vulnerabilities and the multiple societal barriers holding them back.
One of the most powerful way to combat gender inequality is to ensure girls’ right to education. Education leads to empowerment and is necessary for building green skills for green jobs. Education has a knock-on effect on leadership and pro-environmental decisions. Not surprisingly, countries where women have a greater social and political status tend to have lower emissions & lower climate footprints.
There can be no climate justice without girls’ education.
“Girls and women are more than half the world’s population. If we are to successfully address the climate crisis, we need women in the rooms where decisions are being made that affect the climate (and almost all decisions now do).”
-Vanessa Nakate, Climate Activist & founder of the Rise Up Movement, Uganda