“Women and men often experience climate change impacts differently due to existing gender inequalities. In Tanzania, women and girls have experienced the impact of climate change on their health, education and economic activity. In my work, I engage with a lot of girls and young women who face challenges attending school when menstruating. With increasing droughts making access to water even more scarce, they experience poor menstrual hygiene and can miss 3 to 7 days of school per month as a result. My advocacy on gender-transformative climate change education is driven by my deep commitment to empowering adolescent girls and young women as well as my passion for education.”

“I am a gender and climate advocate from Brazil, focusing on youth leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean. I founded the organization EmpoderaClima when I was 22 to raise awareness of the need for women’s empowerment in climate decision-making spaces and to advocate for girls’ education and climate action in low-income countries. Studies show that nations with higher rates of women as climate leaders and where girls have greater access to education have less vulnerability to climate disasters. This is because education provides crucial skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, negotiation and communication. Such tools can make a big difference when it comes to building climate resilience amid a situation of disasters.”

“As an indigenous woman, I have seen the consequences of climate change situations in my community, and most of them affect girls and young women. Today, the changing climate of my country which goes from low temperatures to high temperatures in small periods of time has caused the loss of agricultural production that then decreases the economy of families, forcing them to live in precarious conditions while also needing to provide education to their sons and daughters. In most cases, families have been forced to withdraw their children from schools, depriving them of their right to education. So for me, advocating for climate curricula in schools that center on gender equality as well as education policies highlighting the intersection between gender and climate justice are key in spaces like COP.”

“In 2021, climate change impacts prevented 4 million girls from completing their education. If current trends continue, by 2025 climate change will be a contributing factor in preventing at least 12.5 million girls from completing their education each year. When young women and girls are in the classroom, they can develop agency to make sound decisions about their own lives. If every girl could exercise her sexual and reproductive health and rights through quality education, total emissions from fossil fuels could be reduced by about 40% by the end of this century. Thus, there is enough data and motivation to implement climate education policies at COP28 that focus on gender equality and it is about time that the UN Climate Negotiations prioritize this agenda.”

“I believe that education is key for empowerment and it can bring so many more young people - especially young women and girls - to the climate space, whether as activists, engineers, policymakers, etc.”

“Education is powerful. It increases community problem solving and raises awareness of the effects of climate change and how everyone can act to ensure a smart, safe and just world. It can also break down the cultural norms and traditional power structures that serve as barriers to youth leadership, especially for young women, and to empower them to hold their local communities and governments to account.”