A need, a science and a dream
Behind Katla Carbon
Katla Carbon is a startup with a big heart and an even bigger ambition: A world where all girls realize their right to education and climate justice is placed at the heart of all climate action.
The Need
Girls’ Education
In low-income countries, education systems face catastrophic underfunding. Families struggle to pay for what public systems cannot provide: school fees, uniforms, supplies, even basic infrastructure. For girls, the barriers are highest—when resources are scarce, they’re often the first pulled from classrooms.
Yet educating girls solves two crises at once. Beyond its transformative power—dismantling gender inequalities and disrupting harmful norms—it’s one of our most cost-effective climate solutions. These girls grow into women who face climate change’s worst impacts, yet the very education that could protect them remains chronically unfunded.
The Science
A Climate Solution
We apply the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) framework to open-source datasets and peer-reviewed scientific research to quantify the climate mitigation potential of increased girls' education, in tons CO2e.
On the ground, this translates into measurable impact: As girls' education rates increase, the resulting emission reductions generate carbon credits.
This creates a self-reinforcing cycle - credit revenues fund further educational access, which drives additional climate benefits - delivering simultaneous progress on both sustainable development and climate goals.
The Dream
How it Started
For years, our founder Guðný worked with the Red Cross Movement in low-income countries, witnessing firsthand the relentless challenges civil society organizations face in securing funding.
For decades, scientific research had clearly shown girls' education to be among the most effective climate solutions available. Yet this proven intervention remained chronically disconnected from climate financing.
Determined to bridge this gap, Guðný rallied leading scientists and advocates—uniting expertise across climate finance, gender equity, and sustainable development. Together, they built a groundbreaking methodology to channel climate finance directly to girls' education programs, transforming scientific evidence into scalable, on-the-ground impact.
“This is a brilliant idea that transforms the challenges of climate change into a powerful social opportunity, fostering a just transition while simultaneously tackling the climate crisis.”
— Landsbankinn