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Publications and Reports

The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis

Description

The climate crisis is a child rights crisis. Recent record heat waves, wildfires and flooding in many countries portend a challenging ‘new normal’. The impacts of climate change are clear. So are the solutions. It is unconscionable that today’s children and young people face an uncertain future. Around the world, through protests, social media activity and community and civic engagement, children and young people are loud and clear in demanding change. The old ways of doing things are not good enough. This report provides the first comprehensive view of children’s exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of climate change through the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI). It is already clear that children are more vulnerable to climate and environmental shocks than adults. However, this report examines for the first time exactly how many children live in areas that experience multiple, overlapping climate and environmental risks that trigger, reinforce and magnify each other combined with data on the availability and quality of essential services such as healthcare, education and water and sanitation to give a true insight into the impact of the climate crisis on children. Almost every child on earth is exposed to at least one climate and environmental hazard, shock or stress such as heatwaves, cyclones, air pollution, flooding and water scarcity. But a record-breaking 850 million – approximately one-third of all children – are exposed to four or more stresses, creating incredibly challenging environments for children to live, play and thrive. Globally, approximately 1 billion children – nearly half of the world’s children – live in countries that are at an ‘extremely high-risk’ from the impacts of climate change, according to the CCRI. These children face a deadly combination of exposure to multiple shocks with high vulnerability resulting from a lack of essential services. The survival of these children is at imminent threat from the impacts of climate change. Addressing the climate crisis requires every part of society to act. Governments need to ensure that environmental policies are child-sensitive. Businesses must ensure their practices are protective of the natural environment on which children depend. Greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollutants must be reduced dramatically. Services for children need to incorporate climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Schools need to be educating for green skills. And children and young people need to be recognized and listened to as agents of change.

Reference information

Contributor:
UNICEF

Published in Climate-ADAPT Jan 19 2022   -   Last Modified in Climate-ADAPT Mar 05 2024

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