Help Protect Children from the Impacts of Climate Change
An advocacy call to action: Join UNICEF USA in asking Congress to incorporate climate adaptation and resilience work as part of U.S. foreign assistance programs.
The climate crisis is not just changing the planet. It is changing children, endangering their lives and threatening their right to a clean and safe environment
Despite being least responsible for climate change, children bear the brunt of its impact.
Weather-related disasters caused over 43 million internal displacements of children over a six-year period – or approximately 20,000 child displacements a day. Devastating floods and storms accounted for 95 percent of displacements.
Along with flooding, heatwaves continue to be a climate hazard that endangers the well-being of more and more children around the world. Already, a third of the world’s children are frequently exposed to heatwaves. By 2050, UNICEF projects that every child on the planet – over 2 billion – will experience their effects, as heatwaves grow increasingly severe, occur more often and last longer due to climate change.
Unfortunately, weather-related hazards are not the only negative effect. The climate crisis impacts children’s health and well-being in various ways from exposure to life-threatening diseases such as malaria and dengue to a lack of access to nutritious foods due to crop failures. It can also impede access to safe drinking water and disrupt their learning. According to a recent UNICEF USA poll, more than 1 in 3 youth experience anxiety about the climate but the majority also see themselves as “eco-optimists” and are calling on leaders to take action alongside them.
Young people demand their right to a healthy environment
The U.S. Government must act now to protect children from the impacts of climate change by incorporating the following practices into U.S. foreign assistance programs and policies:
- Financing and enhancing the adaptation and resilience of services that children depend on most, such as water, health, education and nutrition
- Reducing emissions and pollution
- Developing child-centric climate change response plans
- Empowering children as agents of change by including them in decision making on climate change programs and policy
Join us in calling on elected officials to prioritize the protection of children and the world they will inherit
Urge your Members of Congress to help protect children from the impacts of climate change.
When you speak up for children, legislators will listen. Visit the UNICEF USA Action Center to learn more.