Population Change Solutions

The book Project Drawdown, 'The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Developed to Reduce Global Warming', lists Educating Girls at #6 in their rank of most effective ways to reduce GHG emissions, and Family Planning at #7. Together, these 2 Population Change Solutions rank #1 in reduction of Global Warming!

 

As a way of supporting this, OCD suggests joining the World Vision movement to Sponsor 1,000 girls by International Day of the Girl on October 11.

https://www.worldvision.org.nz/connect/1000-girls

Please read below for further information from Project Drawdown book:

EDUCATING GIRLS - providing equal quality of and access to education to girls/young women currently being denied access, leading to improved livelihoods, delayed onset of marriage, delayed childbearing, and fewer children than peers with less education.

FAMILY PLANNING – scaling up voluntary family planning efforts, including access to contraception and reproductive health resources, especially in countries where the unmet need for contraception is high or current demand is low, leading to the decline in total fertility rates.

Conclusions and Limitations

As the population grows, despite technological advancements and improved societal organization, additional resources are necessary to meet demand for energy, buildings, food, materials, etc. Reducing the momentum and scale of human population growth is one of many solutions directed at reducing human impact on the environment. The greatest means for slowing population growth, while upholding human rights, is through voluntary family planning and educating girls.

Reducing unintended births through scale-up of voluntary, high-quality family planning and of the enabling mechanism of universal education, will have a direct impact on reducing global emissions by reducing the number of people generating emissions.

Although there is a lack of consensus over the precise interactions between educational attainment, contraceptive use, and fertility outcomes, it is clear that these complementary solutions are important, yet often overlooked, contributors toward drawdown of atmospheric greenhouse gasses