Unless we act now!

Unless We Act Now: The Impact of Climate Change on Children is a report published by UNICEF at the annual Conference of Parties (COP21), also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

According to this report, there may be no greater, growing threat facing the world’s children – and their children – than climate change. This mounting global crisis has the potential to undermine many of the gains we have made in child survival and development – and poses even greater dangers ahead.

Climate change is no exception. Approximately 530 million live in flood-prone areas, most of which are found in Asia. Over 300 million of these children live in countries where over half of the population is poverty-stricken. On the other side of the world, about 160 million children are growing up in areas suffering severe droughts, mostly in Africa. Around 115 million live in areas where the risks of tropical cyclones are very high.

These events can cause death and devastation, and can also contribute to the increased spread of major killers of children, such as malnutrition, malaria and diarrhoea. This can create a vicious circle: a child deprived of adequate water and sanitation before a crisis will be more affected by a flood, drought or severe storm, less likely to recover quickly and at even greater risk when faced with a subsequent crisis. These are the threats that children face today. Unless we act to solve the climate crisis now, the danger will only escalate. It is a prospect so painful to imagine that many people would rather not think about it.