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Climate Change

Climate change is a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive.

UNICEF/Egypt 2022/Ahmed Emad

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العربية

Climate change is a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive. As extreme weather events such as cyclones and heatwaves increase in frequency and ferocity, they threaten children’s lives and destroy infrastructure critical to their well-being. Floods compromise water and sanitation facilities, leading to diseases such as cholera, to which children are particularly vulnerable.

“Children are the least responsible for climate change, yet they will bear the greatest burden of its impact.”

Egypt is highly vulnerable to climate change, with projected increases in heat waves, dust storms, storms along the Mediterranean coast and extreme weather events. Stronger warming has been documented over the past 30 years, with average annual temperatures increasing by 0.53 degree Celsius per decade. The country’s climate risks are and will impact today's younger generations.

Crucially, the awareness of the importance of climate change action both domestically and at the global level is fast increasing in Egypt. The country is at a turning point in its commitment and action to tackle the consequences of climate change. In the 2030 Vision and Sustainable Development Strategy, Egypt has also made commitments to integrate climate change in national development policies and to green its budget across sectors progressively.

UNICEF at COP27 ensured that the climate crisis is recognized as a crisis for children and their rights, to promoted approaches to decrease climate risk for those who are most vulnerable, and supported children and young people’s participation in COP27 as part of efforts to support children and young people’s participation in climate-related decision-making.

4 key asks for world leaders at COP27

UNICEF urges leaders and governments to take immediate action to protect children from climate devastation by adapting the critical social services they rely on, such as water, health, nutrition and education. All social services must be climate-sensitive and all climate policies and plans must be child-sensitive.
To help children prepare for the future, governments must provide them with climate change education, green skills training and opportunities to meaningfully participate and influence climate policy-making.
Developed countries must deliver on their COP26 commitments to double adaptation funding to US$40 billion per year by 2025 at a minimum, as a step to delivering at least US$300 billion per year for adaptation by 2030. 
All governments must revisit their national climate plans and cut emissions by at least 45 per cent by 2030 to keep heating to no more than 1.5°C. G20 countries should take the lead.