According to UN Women (and based on research by the UN FAO), if women smallholder farmers received equal access to productive resources, farm yields would increase by up to 30%, and an estimated 150 million people would no longer go hungry. In addition, deforestation and emissions would decline.

This matters, because agricultural expansion drives almost 90 percent of global deforestation — and, by extension, many related impacts such as biodiversity loss, desertification, and increased carbon in the atmosphere. When existing agricultural lands and forest management are improved, there is less pressure to deforest further ground.

Furthermore, the communities around the world that have gender quotas in decision-making for local forest management have higher success rates with conservation programs and distribute resources more equally in the community, reducing the need for subsistence activities that are environmentally destructive.

Currently, many countries exclude women from being able to own land or make community decisions regarding land management. But providing women with land rights and farming resources could significantly support local and global sustainability goals.

Overpopulation is the taboo elephant in the room when it comes to humanity’s unsustainable growth. On a planet with dwindling resources, it’s clear that managing our human population deserves more attention — as well as other Sustainable Development Goals like reducing poverty and hunger.

According to 2023 estimates by the World Health Organization, 257 million women of reproductive age have an unmet need for contraception. In the US, despite an overall decline in pregnancy rates, a CDC study found that around 35% of pregnancies were unintended.

Family planning isn’t just about contraception, though. The most successful family planning programs integrate religious leaders, public education campaigns and basic care for women and children where they live.

Combined with free access to contraception, family planning could reduce pressure on environmental systems and improve humanitarian challenges.

A girls’ education can greatly impact her role in either exacerbating or mitigating global warming. Women with more years of education have fewer and healthier children. And since women play an important role as stewards and managers of food, soil, trees and water, their education creates empowerment within community structures as it relates to land management, farming techniques and administrative tasks, further benefiting the environment, climate, and biodiversity around her.

According to the United Nations, 130 million girls are denied the human right to education around the world, and climate-related crises further reduce that capacity. In times of hardship, girls are more likely to be married early since a girl’s dowry can help a family cope with financial stress — and girls are also the first to be removed from school to help with household needs.

But mobilizing communities to support and sustain education for girls can greatly benefit social and environmental conditions. Estimates by Project Drawdown, suggest that together with family planning, girls’ education could reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by nearly 70 gigatons between 2020-2050.