Climate change
Children as a group are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment. Climate change has the potential to severely impact their rights to life, health, education, water, food, shelter and culture, as well as other rights. Climate change can also impact children from an inter-generational perspective; the effects of behaviour by today’s actors will be felt by today’s children and future generations.
A selection of items on climate change and children is accessible below.
For further reports & articles on business and climate change, see the Resource Centre’s general section on climate change
Key reports & initiatives
Business must take the initiative in dealing with disaster
Lord Ashdown, UNICEF UK in Guardian (UK)
Business community can play key role in building resilience, preventing the next exreme weather from being a major disaster.
Climate change will push more children into work
Maplecroft, 1 Dec 2010
Carbon Positive: a chance to protect children affected by climate change
Paddy Ashdown, Guardian (UK), 8 April 2010
On a UNICEF initiative that “urges businesses to go beyond simply reducing their emissions and to take a lead in tackling climate change”.
Carbon Positive
UK Committee for UNICEF
Includes a Business calculator for companies wanting to become “carbon positive”.
Climate Change, Child Rights and Intergenerational Justice
Institute of Development Studies, Nov 2009
Climate change and children: A human security challenge
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Nov 2008
’Climate change will hit vulnerable children’
Paul Eccleston, Telegraph (UK), 29 Apr 2008
Our climate, our children, our responsibility: The implications of climate change for the world’s children
UK Committee for UNICEF, 2008
Case examples
Eco-Cooking Eases Climate Change in the Third World
Cassie Ryan, Epoch Times, 18 Jun 2010
Climate change ‘could kill 400,000 children every year’
Louise Gray, Telegraph (UK), 30 Nov 2009
By 2050, 25m more children will go hungry as climate change leads to food crisis
Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian (UK), 30 Sep 2009
Business call for action on climate change
WWF, Sep 2009
Women, children feeling effects of climate change
Cleaner (Jamaica), 2 May 2009
Beware your children: They might be ‘Climate Cops’
WorldNetDaily, 28 Jul 2008
Papua New Guinea: The World’s First Climate Change ‘Refugees’
Integrated Regional Information Networks, in Worldpress, 11 Jun 2008
Women and children considered particularly vulnerable.
Related stories and components
Human Rights Watch says agricultural plantations & dam construction in Ethiopia compromising livelihoods in Kenya & Ethiopia
Author: Human Rights Watch
"Ethiopia: Dams, Plantations a Threat to Kenyans"...
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
NGOs say World Bank-supported 'Enabling the Business of Agriculture' project increases profits to companies but threatens food security for local communities
Civils society organisations have called on the World Bank to stop supporting the Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) project saying it "jeopardizes farmers’ right to seeds, food security, and the future of our planet." They argue that it...
Malawi: Columnist questions Malawi's readiness to mitigate negative environmental & public health impacts of coal mining
Author: Peter Mmangisa Chonga, Nyasa Times (Malawi)
“Should Malawi be celebrating a coal plant?”...
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
Activists urge UK to promote clean sustainable energy sources instead of oil drilling in Malawi
Author: Alice Ross, The Guardian
"UK aid money spent trying to boost British role in Malawi oil sector"...
- Related stories: Campaigners oppose oil drilling near Lake Malawi; say it could cause ecological disaster & compromise livelihoods
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
Campaigners oppose oil drilling near Lake Malawi; say it could cause ecological disaster & compromise livelihoods
Activists have condemned British government's use of aid money to promote oil drilling near Lake Malawi saying that it could cause an ecological disaster and compromise livelihoods.[Refers to Surestream and Hamra Oil]
Malawi activist say oil drilling near Lake Malawi could compromise livelihoods for about 1.5 million people
Author: Maeve McClenaghan, Joe Sandler Clarke & Lawrence Carter, Energy Desk
"Oil frontiers: British government uses aid money to back oil drilling in UNESCO World Heritage Site"...
- Related stories: Campaigners oppose oil drilling near Lake Malawi; say it could cause ecological disaster & compromise livelihoods
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
- Related companies: Surestream Petroleum
Uganda: Columnist says "smart" land leases to agribusinesses could counter adverse effects of climate change on food security
Author: Charles Onyango-Obbo, in The EastAfrican (Kenya)
"Lease out the land, bring in GMOs, it’s the way out"...
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
Lawyer says new law could lead to climate change compensation by companies
Author: Andrew Gage, Environmental Law Alert (Canada)
"Does Kenya’s Climate Change Act lead the way for climate lawsuits?"...
- Related stories: Kenya: Analysts say new law could make companies liable for climate change damage
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
- Related companies: ExxonMobil Volkswagen
Africa urged to "escape the false hope of wealth in fossil fuels" & seek alternatives to end poverty
Author: Bitange Ndemo, in Daily Nation (Kenya)
"We're squabbling over pipelines while the world moves beyond oil"...
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change
How exploiting natural resources could fuel violent conflict
Author: Chelsea Harvey, The Washington Post (USA)
"How exploiting the Earth can fuel violent conflict"...
- Related in-depth areas: Climate change