--- description: Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate explains why educating girls is a crucial tool in the fight against climate catastrophe. title: How Educating Girls Will Help Combat the Climate Crisis image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856bd7d09391ef3f/698a18b4656a3f5b0cbdb2d4/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [climate change](/tag/climate-change/) ## climate change Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vanessa Nakate: How Educating Girls Will Help Combat the Climate Crisis ## Video: Child Brides of Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): Child Brides of Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pAibsUu7.m3u8) (6:18)  _Published 2020-08-12. Climate change threatens to set back Kenya's efforts to end child marriage._  by [Vanessa Nakate](/author/vanessa-nakate/)  ## Vanessa Nakate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2021 9:27 PM CUT  A student sits at her desk at Kibera School for Girls in Kibera, Nairobi, kenya, on Aug. 7, 2020. A student sits at her desk at Kibera School for Girls in Kibera, Nairobi, kenya, on Aug. 7, 2020.Tony Karumba—AFP/Getty Images  by [Vanessa Nakate](/author/vanessa-nakate/)  ## Vanessa Nakate Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 14, 2021 9:27 PM CUT When you think of climate solutions, you probably think of [renewable energy](https://time.com/5851370/clean-energy-growth-2019/ "undefined") or [electric vehicles](https://time.com/5951773/electric-car-sound-future/ "undefined"). But while we need these kinds of innovations, there are other powerful solutions we are not paying proper attention to. There exists an environmental solution that can reduce inequality, build resilience to the climate crisis and reduce emissions all at the same time. It’s called [educating girls and young women,](https://time.com/5087352/malala-yousafzai-girls-can-change-the-world/ "undefined") and it needs to happen now. If we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, then educating girls is one of the best tools we have. According to nonprofit group [Project Drawdown](https://drawdown.org/ "undefined"), investing in universal education and family planning in low- and middle-income countries could reduce emissions by 85.42 gigatons by 2050\. That’s about a decade’s worth of China’s emissions. Girls who have been to school grow up to be empowered women. They are not [forced into early marriage](https://time.com/5878719/climate-change-kenya-child-marriage/ "undefined"), and they tend to have healthier, smaller families, reducing emissions well into the future. Girls who have been to school have the tools they need to be more resilient to climate disasters. They are economically empowered, are empowered in their communities and know how to respond to extreme weather. Girls who have been to school can grow up to be women leaders, who have been shown to be more likely to ratify environmental treaties. Think of [Christiana Figueres](https://time.com/collection-post/4299640/christiana-figueres-2016-time-100/ "undefined"), the U.N. diplomat who led negotiations for the [Paris Agreement](https://time.com/tag/paris-climate-deal/ "undefined"). Or [Hilda Heine](https://time.com/5669038/women-climate-change-leaders/ "undefined"), the former President of the Marshall Islands, who has shown the world the impact climate change is having in the Pacific. Look too at the [female leaders of the youth climate movement](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/ "undefined"). Educating a girl will give her a brighter future; educating girls will provide us all with a lifeline. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/"},"headline":"Vanessa Nakate: How Educating Girls Will Help Combat the Climate Crisis","datePublished":"2021-04-14T21:27:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:50:48.482Z","description":"Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate explains why educating girls is a crucial tool in the fight against climate catastrophe.","url":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/","keywords":["climate change","TIME 2030"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856bd7d09391ef3f/698a18b4656a3f5b0cbdb2d4/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Vanessa Nakate","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/vanessa-nakate/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856bd7d09391ef3f/698a18b4656a3f5b0cbdb2d4/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate","caption":"A student sits at her desk at Kibera School for Girls in Kibera, Nairobi, kenya, on Aug. 7, 2020.","creditText":"Tony Karumba—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/","name":"Vanessa Nakate: How Educating Girls Will Help Combat the Climate Crisis"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Child Brides of Climate Change","description":"Climate change threatens to set back Kenya's efforts to end child marriage.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/pAibsUu7/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-08-12T18:45:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pAibsUu7.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/","duration":"PT6M18S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5953417/vanessa-nakate-educate-girls-climate/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```