Climate Risk Index: Climate change is particularly dangerous for children

According to UNICEF, children are the main victims of climate change: around a billion of them are “extremely endangered” by the consequences. Even though they are the least responsible for the climate crisis.

Almost every second child worldwide is, according to UNICEF estimates, “extremely vulnerable” to the effects of climate change. Around one billion out of 2.2 billion girls and boys are affected, according to a climate risk index for children published by the UN Children’s Fund.

“Although children and young people are the least responsible for climate change, they are already most affected by its effects,” the report said. Eight climate and environmental hazards such as heat waves, floods and diseases as a result of global warming are defined as individual hazards, which are then grouped into one of five threat levels.

Countries with low emissions are particularly hard hit

One billion children live in the 33 countries of the most serious category, “extremely endangered”, but these nations only cause nine percent of global emissions. In addition, almost every child is threatened by one of the eight dangers, declared UNICEF when the index was published on the third anniversary of the climate strike.

At a press conference to present the report, climate protection activist Greta Thunberg once again called on politicians around the world to act. The index shows that children are severely affected by the climate crisis, although they have contributed little to its development. “But we are not just victims, we are also leading the fight against the crisis,” said Thunberg. “But we need your help.”

Children are most severely affected in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. In the index of the most affected countries, Germany ranks 142nd out of 163 nations examined.

920 million children suffer from water scarcity

The report found, among other things, that one billion children are affected by extremely high levels of air pollution. 920 million suffered from water scarcity. 820 million are severely affected by heat waves, 400 million by cyclones, 330 million by river and 240 million by coastal floods.

Infectious diseases such as malaria or dengue, which are transmitted by mosquitoes or other pathogens, are also increasing as a result of climate changes. More than 600 million children worldwide are currently at risk.

In general, children need more food and water per kilogram of body weight than adults, they are less able to survive extreme weather and more prone to temperature fluctuations and diseases, it said.

UNICEF calls for a stronger fight against the climate crisis

UNICEF emphasized that climate-related risks are mutually reinforcing. Storms and hurricanes combined with rising sea levels could lead to storm surges.

As a consequence of its findings, the UN Children’s Fund called on governments to “urgently do more to combat climate change and its effects and, in particular, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

In addition, more must be invested in measures for climate adaptation and education in the field of climate and environmental protection for young people. UNICEF also called for children and young people to be “involved in all national, regional and international climate negotiations and decisions”. This also applies to the UN climate conference in Glasgow in November.