Today’s children and young people will bear the brunt of the climate change impacts in the future.
Young children are among the most vulnerable to the changes being brought about by climate change. Many of the main killers of children (malaria, diarrhoea and malnutrition) are highly sensitive to climatic conditions and are expected to worsen as the world gets warmer.
Children make up 50 percent of all people affected by disasters. In Asia and Pacific, that number could be even higher. For instance, during the floods in Vietnam in 2000, 65% of all those who died were children.
Finally, indirect impacts, such as the erosion of educational and gender equity goals as especially young girls are kept home from school when household assets are depleted during crises, also have profound implications for the well-being and life opportunities of children.
UNICEF Ireland is currently running a youth forum on Climate Change for young people aged between 14 to 17 years.