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A report entitled: State of World Population 2009, was released today by the UN's Population Fund (UNFPA). The report says boosting support to women can be the changing factor in tackling global warming. It underscores that better reproductive health care and improved relations between women and men can make or break the fight against climate change.

"The whole world has been talking about carbon credits, carbon trading and emissions targets. But not enough has been said about the people whose activities contribute to those emissions or about those who will be most affected by climate change, especially women" the report states.

UNFPA's Daniel Schensul added, "We have to think beyond population growth and on how we organize families. A divorce causes more emissions than a birth of a child."

The report also highlights that if women were given equal worldwide access to family planning, then population growth could be mitigated to prevent the burden of massive human numbers on earth. And if there are lower fertility rates across the globe, UNFPA believes this contributes to slower growth in greenhouse gas emissions "in the long run."

Women are also more likely than men to be sustainable consumers.

By 2050, population in Africa is expected to increase by 1 billion while for Asia, growth is expected to be over 2 billion.

"People have different vulnerabilities and capacities--especially among the poor--and women are the largest population of poor in the world," added Schensul.

Across the globe, poor people have contributed the least to green house gas emissions. The report underlines that climate change must be a people centered approach--with women at the center.

“With the possibility of a climate catastrophe on the horizon, we cannot afford to relegate the world’s 3.4 billion women and girls to the role of victim,” said Ms. Thoraya Obaid, head of UNFPA. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to have 3.4 billion agents for change?”

For a full copy of the report: http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2009/en/

For a link to the UNFPA video on climate change go to: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid34626169001?bctid=50859881001