Girls and climate change

Last week it was confirmed that 2017 was the second warmest year measured globally and also the warmest without El Nino. Climate change / global warming is in full swing…  

We know that 2017 was one of the costliest years with plus U$300 Bn losses in the US alone. But there are other effects of the accelerating climate change that severely affect people and especially young girls in poor countries. For many families, extreme weather that destroy their livelihoods creates desperate situations. This cause them to marry off their daughters, often with devastating consequences for these girls.

Take the example of Bangla Daesh as described in a recent New York Times article by Nick Kristof. For a father whose home and land has been swallowed by the rising seas, the means to keep his daughter in school are no longer there. Nurul Haque may have to pull his daughter, Munni Akter, 13, out of eighth grade and marry her off to an older man looking for a second or third wife.  “I don’t really want to marry her off, because it’s not good for girls, but I’m considering it.” He insisted that if it weren’t for the rising waters and his resulting impoverishment, he wouldn’t think of finding a husband for her.

For every girl that is forced to quit school and be forced into marriage with an often older man it’s a catastrophe for her, especially since this will often result in having to many children far to early. But it will also cost developing countries trillions of dollars by 2030. Ending child marriage will instead keep girls in school and we know that educated women have fewer children later in life, which will increase women’s expected earnings and welfare for both them and their children.

Therefore, education of girls and women is instrumental to create development and prosperity. But we also need to combat climate change in order to enable all girls to receive a good education.