The climate crisis is one of the major global challenges of the present time. Following the February 2022 release of the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Secretary-General described that report as “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership”. Rising sea levels, devastating floods, cyclones, air pollution, global warming, extreme weather events, desertification, deforestation, catastrophic droughts, fires, storms and loss of biodiversity are fast becoming the new normal.

According to UNICEF, as indicated in its first child-focused climate risk index, 1 billion children are at extremely high risk of being affected by the climate crisis, of whom 820 million (over one third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to heatwaves, 400 million (nearly 1 in 6) to cyclones, 330 million (1 in 7) to riverine flooding, 240 million (1 in 10) to coastal flooding, and 920 million (over one third) to water scarcity.

Children are more vulnerable to climate and environmental shocks than adults, especially the poorest, the most disadvantaged and those living in high-risk and fragile contexts.

The cumulative shocks of the climate crisis are exacerbating pre-existing crises, including the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, financial crises and armed conflicts, and aggravating risk factors for experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation, such as poverty, economic and social inequalities, food insecurity and forced displacement. In that way, the climate crisis is acting as a threat multiplier for violence against children.

The Special Representative considers it critical to draw attention to the urgent need to protect children and their rights in response to the climate crisis, which is also indispensable to achieving the 2030 Agenda. That urgency has been confirmed by the numerous contributions received in preparation for this report. The Special Representative is very grateful for all submissions received from Member States and for the consultations held with various stakeholders, including the United Nations, civil society, academia and children, from which she has drawn illustrative examples for the present report. The Special Representative will launch and disseminate an in-depth study on the theme by the end of the present year.

Poorest and disadvantaged children hit the hardest by climate crisis

The World Bank has estimated that up to 132 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 as a result of climate change: 44 million owing to the impact on health; 33.5 million owing to the impact on food prices; and 18.2 million owing to the impact of disasters. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 39.7 million additional people – more than in any other region in the world – could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 as a result of climate change. Poorer children and families are less able to obtain access to key resources when crises occur, creating a vicious cycle that pushes the most vulnerable children deeper into poverty at the same time as increasing their risk of experiencing the worst and most life-threatening effects of climate change. Under those conditions, children are exposed to greater risk of violence and exploitation, including as a result of engaging in survival behaviours and negative coping mechanisms, as further outlined below.

Poorer households are less resilient to financial hardships when climate shocks hit, which can increase the risk of interrupted education. Families without access to affordable credit spend less on their children’s education during periods of crisis (for example, on school fees, learning materials or transportation) and are more likely to temporarily withdraw children from school, with less learning time available at home, leading to significant interruptions in education. Girls and young women shoulder additional burdens of household work in times of crisis, amplifying their risk of dropping out of school. Food shortages and stresses on clean water supplies in times of drought and flooding also affect young people’s daily activities. Additional household work, such as walking farther to collect drinking water and firewood or extra childcare responsibilities when children are unable to go to school, often fall on girls and young women, further reducing their own time to study and increasing their risk of dropping out of school altogether.

Displacement is occurring on an unprecedented scale. Millions of children around the world are internally or externally displaced, driven from their homes by the impacts of slow-onset disasters, environmental degradation and sudden-onset disasters exacerbated by climate change. In 2020, disasters – including storms and flooding – triggered three times more internal displacements than violent conflicts. The World Bank estimates that the number of internal climate migrants could surpass 216 million by 2050, with approximately 86 million people displaced within sub-Saharan Africa alone. Every year, more than 50,000 people in the Pacific flee their homes to escape the devastating impacts of disasters and climate change. In Latin America and the Caribbean, climate change has internally displaced more than 4.2 million people in 18 countries. By 2050, South Asia could see as many as 40 million internal climate migrants; North Africa, 19 million; and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 5 million.

Displaced children are more likely to be victims of various forms of violence at all stages of their journey. In addition, displaced children continue to lack access to humanitarian assistance and services; risk being deprived of liberty because of their or their parents’ migrant status, under policies that criminalize irregular migration; and face discrimination and the possibility of statelessness.

Natural disasters bring environmentally induced changes in supervision, accompaniment and child separation; the transgression of social norms in post-disaster behaviour; economic stress; and insecure shelter and living conditions – all of which constitute significant pathways to violence against children.

The climate crisis is both strongly intersectional and deeply unequal in its impact. It disproportionately affects communities in hotspots that are hardest hit by and least responsible for the crisis. The disruptive effects of climate change on the capacities of social services and communities to prevent and respond to violence are felt most keenly in countries with the fewest resources to adapt and remain resilient, especially as they contend with other challenges: almost all of the extremely high-risk countries with regard to the climate crisis are also considered fragile contexts, and one quarter of them have very high levels of displacement, with more than 5 per cent of the population displaced.

Moreover, not all groups of children are affected in the same way. Children who are already in disadvantaged situations are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including children deprived of family care; children with disabilities; children living in poverty or in rural areas; children in humanitarian and conflict settings; and those who rely on and have a close relationship with the natural environment and its resources, such as indigenous children. Given their strong connection to nature, some 400 million indigenous peoples face threats to practising both their cultural rights and their collective rights. Girls and young women are also disproportionately affected by climate change. This is especially true for those in rural areas, who represent up to 70 per cent of the agricultural workforce in some countries, owing to their social roles and the discrimination they suffer.

As the climate crisis overlaps with other crises, intersects with other vulnerabilities and exacerbates major risk factors, it is magnifying the threat of violence against children, including gender-based violence, child marriage, child labour, abduction, trafficking, sexual violence and recruitment into criminal, armed and/or violent extremist groups.

Studies in South Asian countries and the Pacific islands, for example, show surges in child marriage following weather-related natural disasters. Recent reports and studies on Africa, Asia and Latin America indicate that extreme weather phenomena and the loss of income owing to crop damage increase the demand for child labour. In addition, traffickers, criminal networks and armed and terrorist groups are taking advantage of those vulnerabilities to sell, exploit and recruit children.

The climate crisis is also harming children’s mental health. Eco-anxiety refers to distress caused by climate change, whereby people are becoming anxious about their future. It is causing negative emotions in children and young people worldwide. As they are extremely vulnerable to climate change, children face environmental stressors and become better able to understand climate change and its anticipated impacts, intensifying their capacity to experience stress and anxiety about the consequences of climate change.

Child-sensitive responses to the climate crisis are needed more than ever

The climate crisis is being addressed at the global, regional and national levels, through a wide range of high-level political commitments, treaties, resolutions, frameworks, policies and agreements.

That global framework includes the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Task Force on Displacement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework and the forthcoming general comment No. 26 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has highlighted how climate action must be consistent with existing international human rights obligations, including through having the highest ambition possible to prevent harms related to climate change from worsening; to build resilience equitably and reduce risks faced by those most threatened by climate change; and to ensure accountability and access to effective remedies for those affected by climate change.

Policy frameworks and normative standards addressing different dimensions of the climate crisis have also been developed at the regional level, including the African Union Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022‍–‍2032); the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022–2027); the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement); the recommendations adopted by ASEAN addressing children’s right to a healthy environment and child-sensitive climate actions; and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

Initiatives at the national level encompass significant legal reform and policy frameworks enhancing climate action and highlighting the impact of climate change on children. Some countries are adopting climate constitutionalism, framing climate concerns in the language of constitutional rights. The Philippines has positioned children within its policy frameworks on climate change, including in its Climate Change Act (Republic Act No. 9729), National Climate Change Action Plan (2011–2028), Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection Act (Republic Act No. 10821) and Comprehensive Emergency Programme for Children. Similarly, through its national programme for the protection of children and adolescents for the period 2021–2024, Mexico aims to protect the rights of children and adolescents, by ensuring that they are equipped to face natural disasters and other risks. In its national climate change policy, Ghana recognizes the stronger impact of climate change on women and girls and aims to enhance their resilience through, for example, better access to social protection.

Other countries acutely affected by climate change are focusing on climate-related displacement. For example, through its 2018 national policy on climate change and disaster-induced displacement, Vanuatu aims to minimize the impact of displacement and ensure assistance and protection at all stages, in particular for women and children. Fiji enacted the Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund Act 2019 to fund and support the planned relocation of communities in Fiji that are severely affected by climate change and ensure that there is a clear funding system in place that can be used to assist communities in Fiji when relocation becomes necessary. In Antigua and Barbuda, school contingency plans are developed to map vulnerabilities to the impact of climate change and capacities to respond.

Education, climate literacy and awareness-raising initiatives are also a critical component of climate action. Serbia has promoted its national platform, “Čuvam te”, (“I keep you safe”), through which educational texts on the prevention of and protection from violence are uploaded for parents and teachers. In Colombia, the National School of Environmental Training is promoting strategies on environmental culture that have been created with the participation of citizens, including children. Saint Kitts and Nevis has also announced its commitment to encourage the involvement of children and youth in decision-making processes on climate change.

Although States are the primary duty bearers of rights, businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights and do no harm, especially as business activity has been the source of significant environmental damage that affect children’s living conditions, health, development and well-being. In 2021, the business community released a statement on the vital role that businesses play in addressing the devastating impacts of climate change on children’s well-being. In the statement, issued during the International Chamber of Commerce Make Climate Action Everyone’s Business Forum, business signatories acknowledge that child rights and the environment are interconnected that and businesses should be part of the solution to address and mitigate the negative consequences of climate change in children’s lives globally.

Despite those initiatives, more needs to be done to make responses to the climate crisis child-sensitive. According to UNICEF, only 42 per cent of all nationally determined contributions contain direct references to children or young people, and only 20 per cent contain a mention of children specifically. Less than 2 per cent contain a mention of the rights of children. However, 11 of 13 national adaptation plans contain explicit references to children or young people, with both viewed as vulnerable groups and as beneficiaries in terms of education and health interventions. For instance, in their national adaptation plans, Fiji and Zimbabwe set out specific child-sensitive measures with respect to needs assessments and action plans, health and protection measures in the context of extreme weather events and climate-sensitive diseases.

In addition to greater attention being paid to children and their rights in legal frameworks and action plans and through awareness-raising initiatives, there is also a need for greater investment in adaptation and resilience. Investing in cross-sectoral child-sensitive climate policies that address the specific risks to and vulnerabilities of children and the drivers of violence linked to climate change is essential to finding mid- and long-term sustainable solutions in order to overturn global negative trends. Investments in children’s services can considerably reduce overall climate risk for children worldwide. UNICEF estimates that investments that improve access to health and nutrition services can considerably reduce overall climate risk for 460 million children; those that improve educational outcomes can reduce the risk for 275 million children; and those that improve access to social protection and reduce poverty can reduce the risk for 310 million children.

Developing countries are especially affected by the impacts of climate change. They are hit hardest because they are more vulnerable to the damaging effects of hazardous phenomena, and they have lower coping capacity and may need more time to rebuild and recover. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, 8 of the 10 countries most affected by the quantified impacts of extreme weather events in 2019 belong to the low- to lower-middle-income category. Half of them are least developed countries. Moreover, there is an additional major deficit in that respect, with countries at extremely high risk of the experiencing the negative impacts of climate change receiving only $9.8 billion in global financial flows, mostly in the form of official development assistance. Cooperation, multilateralism and international solidarity need to be strengthened in order to fortify the resilience of the countries most vulnerable to climate crisis.

Children are part of the solution

Investing in children also means involving, empowering and listening to them as part of the solution to tackling the climate crisis. Children are increasingly making their voices heard and acting at the forefront of climate action worldwide, through social media activity, community and civic engagement, participation in climate negotiations, child-led strikes, peaceful protests and social mobilization movements, despite the barriers they face.

In Peru, in 2012, a seven-year-old boy created the first bank for children, the Eco Banco del Estudiante. The bank turns trash that children find on the streets into money, which is then uploaded into their accounts. The bank helps to protect the environment, build children’s capacities and reduce child poverty, child labour and school dropout rates.

In South Africa, Scouts have filled trucks with rubbish from Durban harbour; in Greece, they have cleaned beaches; and in Croatia, they have planted more than 65,000 trees. In the United Arab Emirates, two adolescent siblings started a campaign, entitled “Papers, E-wastes, Plastics and Cans”, and mobilized their school, peers and parents, collecting approximately 15,000 kg of waste on a monthly basis. In Uganda, children and young people repurpose used water bottles as containers for home-made liquid soap, which they sell to help to support their families.

In Fiji, children and young people have developed a climate-smart solution to combat coastal erosion, having identified rising sea levels as a problem. Having received a seed grant, they planted and maintained mangrove trees to allow the coast to recover. In 16 countries across the Latin America and Caribbean region, the “Tremendas” network, led by adolescent girls, has launched the Academia Climáticas platform to deliver climate education to girls and young women and build a network to identify local needs and solutions to the climate crisis.

As environmental and human rights defenders, children are also increasingly using the justice system as a strong and powerful tool to demand climate justice. Young activists across various regions have been involved in legal proceedings to demand more ambitious emissions cuts to safeguard their future; to require an assessment of the impact of fossil fuel extraction on children; and to stop deforestation, among other examples.

Despite those and many other examples of child participation, the barriers remain considerable. Acting as environmental and human rights defenders brings risks for children, such as being criminalized, silenced, threatened and stigmatized. Negative cultural and social norms with regard to their right to have a voice in the decisions that affect them and attitudes that limit their ability to engage remain widespread. This underscores the importance of redoubling efforts to ensure that children are provided with safe pathways to gain access to information, express themselves and become involved in climate action and decision-making processes.

The way forward

Too many children worldwide are still left behind. More children than ever are facing extreme poverty, discrimination and social inequalities. More children than ever are forcibly displaced, fleeing conflicts, widespread violence and food insecurity. The climate crisis has aggravated these risks. Taken together, those multiple crises are exacerbating children’s vulnerabilities to violence. No country is immune, and no child is immune.

Exposure to the climate crisis, violence, stress and other crises causes immediate and long-term physiological and psychological damage. The consequences can last a lifetime. Children, especially the poorest children, those deprived of family care, displaced children, those living in rural and remote areas, indigenous children, children with disabilities, children from minority groups, children living in conflict areas and in humanitarian settings and girls, may not reach their full education and health potential, which will limit their future income and productivity and affect human capital development. In addition to the human cost, a huge financial toll is paid by its victims and by societies.

Climate change and development are inextricably linked. Action on climate change is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and requires integrated action across social, economic and environmental spheres.

A paradigm shift is needed to achieve that. Spending on integrated and cross-sectoral child- and gender-sensitive services must be seen as an investment and an essential step to ensuring the adaptation and resilience of social services in the face of the climate crisis. That includes social welfare, protection and care services; safe and inclusive education, including digital learning; physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health services; justice; and support and sustainable social protection for vulnerable families and communities.

That investment is not only the foundation for global efforts to build back better in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the other crises outlined above. It is key to building safe, just, inclusive and resilient societies, for and with children. Increased pressure on public finances cannot be used to justify a lack of investment in children. Given the overwhelming evidence on the dangers and causes of climate crisis, failing to take action is an injustice to all children.

To address that injustice, Governments, the business sector and the international community must adopt and implement child-sensitive climate laws and policies, with dedicated resources and robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms. The Special Representative welcomes the recent adoption of resolution 76/300, in which the General Assembly recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as a means to help to reduce environmental injustices, close protection gaps and empower people, especially those that are in vulnerable situations, including environmental human rights defenders, children, youth, women and indigenous peoples.

Children and young people must be involved in the implementation and development of those policies, including the most vulnerable and most highly affected. Strengthening their capacities, investing in climate change and environmental education and equipping children to be part of the solution in disaster risk reduction and climate mitigation efforts is key to ensuring sustainable solutions.

With less than eight years remaining to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda, the clock is ticking. All stakeholders must work together in a coordinated manner and using an integrated approach to tackle climate change in order to prevent and reduce its impact on children. Cooperation and multilateralism need to be strengthened, based on mutual partnerships and accountability, as most of the countries at greatest risk are those who are least responsible. Climate justice and social justice are needed more than ever, for all children, leaving no one behind.