Children to bear the brunt of climate change

ELLANIE SMIT

WINDHOEK

While no child is responsible for rising global temperatures, they will pay the highest cost. The children from countries least responsible will suffer most of all.

This is according to the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective.

Children in Namibia are facing a medium risk to the impacts of the climate crisis.

The Children’s Climate Risk Index ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, based on their access to essential services.

Namibia was ranked 77th of 163 countries on the index. The country scored 5.1 on the index.

Namibian Sun recently reported that temperatures in Namibia are set to rise much more rapidly than the global average.

For each 0.5° C increment in the global temperature, the mean temperature for Namibia will increase by 0.5 to 1° C more.

As the global temperature increases by 1.5° C and more, climate models project that Namibia will experience increasing frequency and intensity of climate extremes.

Highest risk

According to the index, young people living in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau are the most at risk of the impacts of climate change.

The countries where children face the lowest risk to climate change are Iceland, Luxemburg, New Zealand, Finland and Estonia.

The report finds that approximately one billion children – nearly half the world's 2.2 billion children – live in one of the 33 countries classified as extremely high risk.

It says these children face a deadly combination of exposure to multiple climate and environmental shocks with a high vulnerability due to inadequate essential services, such as water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

‘Unimaginably dire’

The findings reflect the number of children impacted today, however this are likely to get worse as the impacts of climate change accelerate.

“For the first time, we have a complete picture of where and how children are vulnerable to climate change, and that picture is almost unimaginably dire.

“Climate and environmental shocks are undermining the complete spectrum of children’s rights, from access to clean air, food and safe water; to education, housing, freedom from exploitation, and even their right to survive. Virtually no child’s life will be unaffected,” said Henrietta Fore, Unicef executive director.

Skewed emissions

The report also reveals a disconnect between where greenhouse gas emissions are generated, and where children are enduring the most significant climate-driven impacts.

The 33 ‘extremely high-risk’ countries collectively emit just 9% of global CO2 emissions.

Conversely, the 10 highest emitting countries collectively account for nearly 70% of global emissions.

Unicef urges governments and businesses to listen to children and prioritise actions that protect them from impacts, while accelerating work to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Without the urgent action required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, children will continue to suffer the most.

Compared to adults, children require more food and water per unit of their body weight, are less able to survive extreme weather events, and are more susceptible to toxic chemicals, temperature changes and diseases, among other factors.