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Summary: "Climate Change and Children" examines the effects of climate change on children – and examines how climate change has evolved from an ‘environmental’ issue into one that requires collective expertise in sustainable development, energy security, and the health and well-being of children. Young people speak directly through comments and letters collected by UNICEF’s Voices of Youth, child delegates to the 2007 UNEP African Regional Children’s Conference for the Environment and the 2007 World Scout Jamboree, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme. [NEW YORK/NUSA DUA (BALI), 12 December 2007] – Climate Change and Children, released yesterday by UNICEF, outlines children and young people's concerns about climate change. The publication discusses the effects of climate change on children’s health and development and is timed to coincide with world leaders’ discussions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. “When young people are asked to list their concerns about the world they live in, one issue that features high on their agenda is climate change,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “While we still have a lot to learn about the consequences of climate change, economic and social development cannot be sustainable unless we deal decisively with this issue.” The UN General Assembly Commemorative high-level plenary meeting devoted to children and young people, which is being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, coincides with the Bali meeting. The meeting, known as the World Fit for Children plus 5 (WFFC+5), will follow-up on the outcome of the 2002 Special General Assembly Session on Children. Climate Change and Children will be launched at a special side event to WFFC+5 hosted by the Government of Greece that will also link children and climate change -- the two issues the intergovernmental meetings are addressing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one quarter of all deaths are attributable to environmental factors, rising to more than one-third of deaths among children under the age of 14. Another recent UNICEF publication -- a compendium of statistics about progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals called Progress for Children that was launched on Monday 10 December -- provides comprehensive data on improvements in rates of child mortality that have occurred since 1990. However the three biggest killers of children under five – respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and malaria – are closely linked to environmental factors. And WHO predicts that deaths from asthma, a common chronic disease among children, could increase by nearly 20 per cent by 2016 unless urgent action is taken to reduce emissions from vehicles and factories. UNICEF is working with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), among others, to develop a strategy to promote safe and healthy environments for children. This strategy will focus on measures to prevent and reduce environmental risks to child survival, protection and education, while enhancing capacities to respond to the needs of children in the event of humanitarian crises linked to climate change. While many of the earths’ resources are threatened by climate change, one important renewable resource – the power of young people to effect change – is available in abundance. Along with its partners, UNICEF is also developing an Environmental Education Resource Pack to support government efforts to empower children to protect and restore local environments. Further information
pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/Climate_Change_and_Children.pdf