Next Billion
A few years ago, a landmark study by Project Drawdown (2017) revealed a powerful truth: Investing in girls’ education and women’s wellbeing — including their ability to support themselves and provide for their children — is among the most effective climate solutions on the planet. According to the report, these strategies could reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 119 gigatons by 2050, outperforming many technical and behavioral fixes like improving refrigeration, reducing food waste and promoting plant-rich diets.
Yet on the ground, a troubling dynamic persists. In 2022, UNICEF issued a sobering warning from the Horn of Africa: Due to drought and poverty, the number of children at risk of dropping out of school had tripled, from 1.1 million to 3.3 million, in just months, putting girls at greater risk of child marriage. A few years later, a 2024 Save the Children report revealed that every 30 seconds, a girl is married off in countries classified as “fragile” — i.e., those that are struggling with weak governance and crises like wars and climate disasters.
Climate vulnerability is a key factor behind the risks facing girls in these countries. Yet although there are many funders investing in education and training for young women and girls in Africa, the impact of these investments, especially on climate resilience, often fades too quickly. When a family’s survival is at stake, particularly in rural communities governed by tradition, the promise of education struggles to compete with the immediate need for food and caregiving support. This is where the education gap widens, and where the futures of the most vulnerable — young girls — are sacrificed in the brutal economic calculus poor households must perform.
