Opinion Uncategorized #BTColumn – Children: The centre of climate change Barbados Today Traffic20/11/20210170 views A small boy, in flood water up to his neck, holds on to a ledge outside his flooded home, in Nucleo 38 Village in the district of San Julian in Santa Cruz Department. [#2 IN SEQUENCE OF TWO] By March 2008 in Bolivia, an estimated 97,000 families had been affected by extensive flooding throughout the country, the result of heavy rains that began in November 2007 and are linked to La Niña climate affects. Seventy-five people have died and more than 60,000 families have been displaced. The disaster hit some of the countrys poorest communities, damaging or destroying homes, schools, health facilities, roads and other vital infrastructure. In support of the Governments emergency response efforts, the United Nations has issued an inter-agency Flash Appeal for US $18.2 million of which UNICEFs portion is US $1.79 million. Working with all partners, UNICEF is distributing water tanks, filters and other water-purification equipment; supporting supplementary feeding and latrine construction; and helping to provide tents and educational materials, furniture and reconstruction assistance. UNICEF is also supporting psychosocial services for children traumatized by the disaster and other child protection services in flood-affected communities. The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY. by UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child; Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative; Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action World Children’s Day 2021 – Nov 20 “Children and young people contribute the least to climate change, yet they suffer tremendously and often they suffer in silence.” – Priyanka Lalla, Youth activist, Trinidad and Tobago As COP 26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference ends, the world must grapple with how much still must be done to ensure a safe environment for our children and future generations. With little time left to slow the pace of climate change, there is an overwhelming and increasing fear that humanity may fail to resolve the climate crisis—the defining crisis of our time. The costs and consequences of our collective action and inaction will be felt most deeply by children – impacting their rights, protection, and well-being. Approximately 1 billion children – nearly half the world’s children – live in countries considered to be high-risk due to extreme climate events, according to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risks Index. Wildfires, floods, droughts, famine, water scarcity and pandemics rank among the many risks children are and will be exposed to as a consequence of the climate crisis. Today, almost 160 million children are exposed to severe and prolonged droughts. By 2040, it is estimated that one in four children will be living in areas with extreme water shortages. The evidence is alarming, and the consequences will only intensify. Already, around 38 million children see their education disrupted by the climate crisis each year and 90 per cent of diseases resulting from the climate crisis are likely to affect children under the age of five. By 2025, a further 24 million children are projected to be undernourished. The climate crisis is increasingly a driver of forced migration and by 2050, there could be an additional 143 million migrants as a direct result. The climate crisis also contributes to many of the drivers of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence against children, such as poverty, conflict, and displacement. Faced with such stark evidence, it is imperative that we take urgent and collective action and innovation with respect to the climate crisis to support the healthy development of all children as well as to protect the future and well-being of all young people. We have heard the call from children and youth On this World Children’s Day, the Alliance, CERI and the Committee on the Rights of the Child call for State parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to: • Ensure that children and their rights are protected as an integral part of all actions related to climate change and climate justice. • Mobilise resources to address risk and protective factors to prevent further harm to children. • Integrate and elevate the voices and engagement of children and youth – of all genders, abilities and backgrounds, by ensuring that they have access to information and the right to meaningful participation. • Ensure that children have access to justice and remedy in relation to climate change. • Promote climate justice for all children and youth, including by protecting ecosystem integrity for future generations. • Provide a safe and empowering context for child human rights defenders working on climate change and climate justice. • Addressing the climate crisis will be the ultimate test of accountability to the world’s children.