The United Nations (UN) will be meeting in September to discuss global development goals, an update on the Millennium Development goals.
"Investing in women can take us a long way towards achieving forms of development," Cardinal Peter Turkson said in the Guardian.
He was speaking about comments made at the Vatican by Mary Robinson, the UN secretary general's special envoy for climate change, who said there needed to be more focus on the education of girls and women.
Mary Robinson was at the Holy See for a two-day conference on the pope's environmental encyclical, she said development discussions are needed to prevent further environmental damage.
The Ghanaian cleric, Cardinal Peter Turkson said: "The discussion of the encyclical and climate change really leads to sustainable goals, so the two usually go hand in hand."
In September the UN and state governments will try to commit to sustainable development goals.
Talking about the Pope's encyclical Cardinal Peter Turkson warned against looking at it as a climate change probelm: it "was about ecology, which is far broader than climate change. It's a mistake to talk about an encyclical on climate change."
"The Pope said nothing is too small or insignificant; everyone can support a line of action to respond to the needs that we have and changing their lifestyles.
"There's something for everybody."
