Cologne. Children’s aid organization UNICEF called on participating heads of state and government to take decisive and urgent measures to tackle the climate crisis, on the sidelines of the World Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, starting Sunday.
One billion children are already at extremely high risk from the effects of global climate change, according to the current UNICEF Climate Risk Index, as the United Nations Children’s Fund announced in Cologne on Friday.
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Accordingly, the main climate risk factors for children in Europe are air pollution, heat waves, water and soil pollution, and flooding of rivers.
Without action, children’s livelihoods and prospects will be destroyed
“The climate convention agreements determine the lives and futures of millions of children and future generations,” said Christian Schneider, UNICEF Germany’s managing director. Without decisive and prompt measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, their livelihoods and prospects will be destroyed. In addition, children’s resilience should be strengthened by improving basic services.
UNICEF called on governments and companies to “immediately reduce” greenhouse gas emissions, among other things. It said that to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, countries would need to reduce their emissions by at least 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 levels.
In addition, industrialized countries should provide US$100 billion annually for climate finance. In addition, youth and youth must be involved in all climate negotiations and decisions.