Educate Girls And Give Them Birth Control To Stop Climate Change

In talks of climate change solutions, obvious and re-occurring themes might be carbon-cutting measures like energy efficiency. However, according to the Project Drawdown, educating girls and giving them access to birth control are two of the top ten solutions. As this WIRED article puts it,

"the link between the education of girls and a smaller carbon footprint isn’t as intuitively obvious as, say, phasing out fossil fuels. But dig a little deeper, and the evidence is overwhelming. It’s clear that getting more girls into school, and giving them a quality education, has a series of profound, cascading effects: reduced incidence of disease, higher life expectancies, more economic prosperity, fewer forced marriages, and fewer children. Better educational access and attainment not only equips women with the skills to deal with the antagonizing effects of climate change, but it gives them influence over how their communities militate against it."

Many scientists have identified population growth as one of the key global reasons for the acceleration of climate change. It puts a strain on all global resources and unwanted childbirths rob millions of women from fulfilling their full potentials.

The article also cites a study published last summer, which found that having just one fewer child is a far more effective way for individuals in the developed world to shrink their carbon footprint than, say, recycling or eating less meat.

Statistics show that poorer countries have the highest fertility rates, but access to education and contraception remain privileges that are often inaccessible to poor people in the developing world.