Protecting children in
a changing climate
Climate change is endangering children and threatening their futures
Climate change puts children’s most basic rights at risk, seriously affecting their access to health, food, water, clean air, education and protection. Around the world, the growing number of extreme weather events is putting more and more children’s live’s in danger. Every year, environmental factors take the lives of 1.7 million children under five.
For an even greater number of children, these events mean a reduced chance of a happy, healthy future. When floods hit, schools and health clinics are destroyed. When droughts occur, children spend less time in school because they have to walk miles every day to collect water. Rising sea levels and toxic air pollution turn the communities that children call home into hazardous environments to grow up in.
These aren’t problems that can wait. They are problems right now, and Unicef is working tirelessly to help solve.
Mozambique, 2019. Helcio holds Anderson as they take shelter in a living space for people displaced by Cyclone Idai. The cyclone caused widespread flooding, forcing thousands of people from their homes.
Unicef/De Wet
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600 million children – one in four worldwide – will be living in areas with extremely limited water resources by 2040
Protecting and empowering children in the face of climate change
Solving these problems is central to Unicef’s mission to realise the rights of every child – especially the most vulnerable. We respond rapidly to natural disasters, providing children with the care, supplies and protection that could save their lives. We are committed to providing a safe environment for every child to grow up in.
But children deserve more than protection. With the right support they can be empowered to become agents of change who can shape their own future. That’s why Unicef is providing communities with the tools and knowledge they need to resist the effects of climate change themselves. Then, increasing their access to green technologies and promoting the use of sustainable energy will help them to build a more sustainable and prosperous future.
Help us build a more sustainable future for children
Donate nowGiving children a voice in the fight for their environment
Children deserve to have a say in their future, and we are fighting for their right to be heard. In the UK we’ve been campaigning for children’s right to breathe clean air, pressuring the government to reduce toxic air levels. In Zambia, child-led advocacy programme Unite4Climate is empowering children to become climate ambassadors. And in places like Za’atari Refugee camp, Jordan ‘Start-up’ events are equipping children with the knowledge and business skills they need to design innovative solutions to the challenges they face.
At the highest levels, Unicef fights to make sure children’s voices are central to the discussions about climate and the environment. We use our unrivalled influence and expertise to work with governments in 190 countries. We strive to ensure that they stick to their climate and environment goals and help them to develop even more ambitious programmes that better protect children.
Khaldyeh and Kefah demo the natural water filter they built at 'Start-up Za'atari'. Unicef is equipping children with the skills they need to face climate challenges and help build a more sustainable future.
Unicef/Herwig
Support Unicef and help us build a more sustainable future for children
By supporting Unicef you can help protect children from the effects of climate change, fight for their voices to be heard and build a sustainable future.
