Climate doomers who have flown to a U.N. climate conference in tropical Fiji have heard “global warming” increases the risk of child marriages, teenage pregnancies and violence against girls.
Yes, you read that right the first time. The weather, not religious and societal practices, are to blame for the abuse of underage girls spreading globally.
According to the charity Plan International, natural climate events such as floods, droughts, cyclones, and extreme heat are destroying the health and education services girls depend on while also forcing families to marry off young daughters as a “survival strategy.”
It fails to note significant religious factors, societal demands, and sheer greed in selling young women for money as a factor in the degradation of girls. Forced cousin marriage is also an accepted practice in some faiths that matches young girls with older partners.
According to UNICEF, South Asia, including countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is home to the largest number of child brides in the world, at an estimated 285 million, or around 44 per cent of the global total.
This is followed by the sub-Saharan Africa region, which now accounts for around 18 percent of the global total at 115 million.
The charity’s report – Change Her Forecast, the State of the World’s Girls 2026 – was based on interviews with 5,000 girls and young women aged between 15 and 24 in Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru, Senegal and Zimbabwe.
It said one in 10 girls reported an unintended pregnancy “following a climate-related event” and 33 percent reported an increase in unintended pregnancies in their community.
“Nine in 10 girls said climate-related events were placing serious pressure on their family’s survival, health, and stability,” according to the report, released ahead of the “international day of the girl child” on Friday.
Some 28 percent of respondents said they had witnessed an increase in violence against women following climate related events.
The United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell told delegates at the U.N. “pre-COP” gathering, which kicked off in the Fijian city of Nadi on Monday, “Climate-driven extreme heat during pregnancy is increasingly linked to premature birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and maternal complications.”
He cited the report as evidence, AFP reports.
The annual U.N.-sponsored global climate summit — known as COP31 — is to be held in Turkey next month.
Organisers predict more than 100,000 people (with some estimates ranging from 80,000 to over 150,000 total visitors and delegates) from nearly 200 countries will fly in from around the world for the gathering in Antalya.
It follows the release of yet another U.N. report released back in August that found developing countries needed $310 billion-$365 billion to adapt, yet had only $26 billion in adaptation finance available in 2023.
“We rely on and we appeal to countries to commit to climate finance,” Tabuya said, pleading for more funds to be sent to U.N. agencies.