The Path to Drawdown: Contraceptives
Approximately 225 million women in lower-income countries say they lack the ability to choose whether and when to become pregnant. That leads to ~75 million unintended pregnancies each year. There's also a similar deficiency in contraceptives in high-income countries. In the United States, for example, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended.
Securing the right to voluntary, high-quality family planning services and contraception around the world would have significant positive impacts on the health, welfare, and life expectancy of both women and their children.
Contraceptives, family planning and resources for women's health would also hugely benefit the environment. Every person in the world consumes resources and causes emissions throughout their life. If contraceptives are widely provided and women's health are secured, a more stable population size could help avoid up to 85.42 gigatons of greenhouse gases between 2020 and 2050.
