The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis
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The climate crisis is a child rights crisis Introducing THE CHILDREN’S CLIMATE RISK INDEX . Published by UNICEF Division of Communication 3 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA Contact: [email protected] Website: www.unicef.org Suggested citation. The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis:: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2021. ISBN: 978-92-806-5276-5 © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), August 2021 The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of UNICEF or the United Nations. The designations and maps used do not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or of its authorities, or the delimitation of any frontiers. This report presents the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI). This is the Beta version of the Index, and will continue to be adjusted, modified and new datasets added, including projection analysis, together with partners, including the Data for Children Collaborative and Save the Children International. This Index does not include Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that have a land area less than 20,000sq/km due to data availability limitations. Many SIDS face serious and existential threats due to climate change that are not adequately reflected in the data, and not Cover photo captured appropriately in a multi-hazard index. As such, they have been A girl returning home from a temporary shelter after the not been considered in this edition. Future versions of the Index will passage of Hurricane Iota in Nicaragua, November 16, 2020. aim to address the data requirements for these contexts. © UNICEF/UN0372373/Ocon/AFP-Services The climate crisis is a child rights crisis Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index Acknowledgments Production and Authorship: Nicholas Rees (Lead UNICEF Data Analysis: Jan Beise, Danzhen You, Bollasina (University of Edinburgh), Julia Branson Author and Project Manager), Margaretha Barkhof Viviana Rocio Canon, Robert Bain, Claudia Cappa, (University of Southampton), Irena Connon (Data Analysis, CCRI Methodology), Jan Burdziej Enrique Delamónica, Attila Hancioglu, Chika (University of Stirling), Joseph Crispell (Office for (Data Analysis, Geographical Information Systems), Hayashi, Suguru Mizunoya, Jennifer Requejo, Tom National Statistics and Foreign, Commonwealth Sophie Lee (Research and Analysis), Harriet Riley Slaymaker, Yanhong Zhang. & Development Office Data Science Hub) Lena (Promising Ideas). Dominelli (University of Stirling), Alessandra UNICEF Communications and Advocacy: Sara Fassio (Data for Children Collaborative), Andrew Overall Leadership and Guidance: Gautam AlHattab, Ahmed Alnaqshbandi, Alex Del Castello, Harfoot (University of Southampton), Sian Henley Narasimhan (Climate, Energy, Environment & Maud Combier-Perben, Kurtis Cooper, Yasmine (University of Edinburgh), Mark Inall (Scottish Disaster Risk Reduction) and Toby Wicks (Data Use) Hage, Selma Hamouda, Teresa Ingram, Baishalee Association for Marine Science), Charlotte Marcinko Nayak, Carlos Perellon, Maria Jose Ravalli, (University of Southampton), James Mollard Special thanks to Genevieve Boutin, Paloma Charlotte Rutsch, Thomas Sayers, Leah Selim, (University of Edinburgh), Kate Sargent (University Escudero, Vidhya Ganesh, Mark Hereward, Kelly Jeremy Sprigge, Georgina Thompson, Samantha of Edinburgh), Gary Watmough (University Ann Naylor, Valentina Otmacic, Sanjay Wijesekera. Wauchope, Ruthia Yi, Eric Zuehlke. of Edinburgh) and Tom Wilkinson (Office for National Statistics and Foreign, Commonwealth & Internal Contributions and Review External Contributions and Review Development Office Data Science Hub). UNICEF Technical Expertise: Hanoch Barlevi, We are extremely thankful to the following We are also very thankful for review and Lars Bernd, Seon Mi Choi, Julia Da Silva, Solrun colleagues in the Data for Children Collaborative collaboration with colleagues at Save the Children Engilbertsdottir, Anne Grandjean, Tarik Hassan, with UNICEF for their technical guidance and expert International, including: Christophe Belperron, Laura Healy, Krishna Krishnamurthy, Bethlehem support, including in conducting data and statistical Oliver Fiala, Rajib Ghosal, Yolande Wright. Girma Mamo, Desiree Raquel Narvaez, Kenneth analysis, methodology and literature review: Alex Russell, Abheet Solomon, Jen Stephens, David Hutchison (Data for Children Collaborative), Fraser Stewart, Rakshya Thapa, Fiona Ward, Amy Macdonald (Data for Children Collaborative), Craig Wickham. Hutton (University of Southampton), Massimo Contents Acknowledgments .............................. i Chapter 3 Chapter 6 Children’s vulnerability to CCRI methodology ......................... 101 Foreword climate and environmental Fridays for Future ............................... 4 hazards, shocks and stresses .......... 57 Pillar 1 ................................................................................... 102 Pillar 2 ................................................................................... 102 Foreword Inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene ....................... 58 UNICEF Executive Director Inadequate health and nutrition ........................................ 61 Chapter 7 Henrietta Fore .................................... 6 Inadequate education and learning .................................. 64 The climate crisis is Poverty and lack of social protection ................................ 68 a child’s rights crisis ...................... 109 Executive Summary ............................ 9 Exposures exacerbate vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities exacerbate exposures ......................................................... 71 A crisis on many fronts ..................................................... 109 Chapter 1 A crisis infringing on many rights ....................................111 Introduction ..................................... 19 Chapter 4 States’ obligations towards children ...............................112 The Children’s Climate Risk Index .... 73 Children’s right to claim their rights .................................112 Chapter 2 Children’s exposure to climate Chapter 5 Chapter 8 and environmental hazards, Responding to the risks ...................84 Creating an environment shocks and stresses ......................... 27 fit for children ................................ 117 Building resilience and reducing exposure: Extreme temperatures ........................................................ 27 Sensitivity testing by modelling changes in risk ............ 84 Annex Water scarcity ........................................................................ 31 The CCRI in the Context of Environmental CCRI rank and emissions Riverine flooding ................................................................... 37 Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction Measures .... 90 by country ....................................... 120 Coastal flooding ................................................................... 39 The CCRI in the context of fragility, governance Cyclone exposure ................................................................ 41 and displacement ................................................................. 97 Disease vector exposure .................................................... 43 Air pollution .......................................................................... 48 Soil and water pollution ...................................................... 52 The threat of overlapping hazards .................................... 54 Foreword Fridays for Future Three years ago, with a lone protest by a single Increasingly catastrophic droughts, fires and child, Fridays for Future began. Within months, that storms are forecast to become even worse as lone protester would grow to over a million in more our planet continues to warm. Important food than 120 countries. Young people, from all corners and water systems will fail and entire cities are of the globe, uniting in a global call to save the expected to succumb to destructive floods. planet, and save their future. Climate change is the greatest threat facing the Climate change is the greatest threat facing the world’s children and young people. And so we too world’s children and young people. We have are rising. known this for some time – based on what science told us, what the stories we heard from around In Bangladesh, exposure to cyclones, droughts, the world have illustrated, and what we have floods, salinity and river erosion moved Tahsin witnessed with our own eyes – but today, we have to action. He is raising awareness of waterways the first analysis of climate risk from the most choked by plastic waste and dangerous erosion at important perspective on this crisis – ours. river edges. UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index reveals In the Philippines, Mitzi is leading youth in the fight that 1 billion children are at ‘extremely high risk’ of for climate justice. Recently, she spent two dark the impacts of climate change. That is nearly half days in a house without power separated from her of all children. And it is happening today. family during a typhoon – not knowing whether her home had been consumed by the floods, or if her Children bear the greatest burden of climate mother was safe. change. Not only are they more vulnerable than adults to the extreme weather, toxic hazards and In Zimbabwe, Nkosi wants to know how he can be diseases