As the COP26 climate summit kicks off in Glasgow, young people are calling on politicians to commit to reducing greenhouse emissions and limiting global temperature rise.
9 in 10 children are worried about climate change, according to a survey of almost 50,000 young people by UNICEF and VotesForSchools.
Charities including UNICEF, Save the Children, ActionAid and UK Youth Climate Coalition are calling on leaders to include the voices of young people in climate discussions.
Writing in the Mirror, teenagers and young adults from around the world explain how the climate emergency is impacting their lives, share their concerns about the future and demand concrete action from world leaders.
Lisa Banda, 24, Malawi
Malawi has not been spared from rising temperatures and extreme weather events.
Being one of the least developed countries, Malawi suffers a lot from disasters.
Annually, climate-related disasters such as floods destroy houses, roads and bridges.
Pests destroy large hectares of crops.
Families are left homeless and food insecure.
Schools are turned to shelters and children's right to education is violated.
The bridges leading up to water points are destroyed, leaving people with unclean water to drink.
Our economy cannot afford to recover from these losses, which are triggered by the greenhouse gases that we contribute the least to.
That is why, as a UNICEF Youth Advocate, I am raising awareness of climate change among children and young people, so that they will not only support climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, but also demand climate justice from our leaders.
I also share the climate change related challenges that people are facing, and the adaptation measures being taken so that we can learn, support and upscale these efforts.
At COP26 I want world leaders to commit adequate and accessible finance to support climate change adaptations.
I want leaders to prioritise adaptation as much as they prioritise mitigation.
Global funding streams such as the Green Climate Fund must provide the financial support to not just develop national adaptation plans, but to also finance their implementation.
Annual humanitarian aid is not enough: we want climate finance that supports building back better, stronger and more sustainably.
Tahsin Uddin Ibne Rafiq, 23, Bangladesh
The frequency of a wide range of natural disasters is increasing in Bangladesh every year. Coastal communities, especially children, are the most vulnerable.
Currently, I am training young people to adapt to the problems of climate change.
I also work to support and protect the mental health of climate change victims.
I run tree-planting programmes and provide information to communities at risk of climate change phenomena.
I want to see world leaders play an effective role in implementing the Paris Agreement.
At COP26 particularly, I would like to see leaders decide to take joint steps to make sure that countries like Bangladesh – that are the main victims of climate change, despite not contributing to the causes of it – do not face further losses.
Mitzi Jonelle Tan, 23, Philippines
I grew up being afraid of drowning in my own bedroom as the storms and typhoons ravaged my country.
Extreme weather events, coupled with the historical and ongoing exploitation of the Global South, has caused irreversible loss and damages and made it almost impossible for us to be resilient.
Climate justice needs reparations from the Global North – not as loans, but as grants to be used for the loss and damages we have experienced and for people-centred adaptation we need, which varies per community.
In the Philippines, taking care and planting the right species of mangroves in some areas is a concrete example of this.
And of course, the most urgent climate solution constantly ignored is drastic emission cuts. With COP26, I keep getting asked what my hopes are – but I don’t have hopes.
I have demands and expectations.
I expect world leaders to finally treat the climate crisis as a crisis and to stop compromising on our lives.
Diana Gelina, 15, Solomon Islands
Collin Leafasia/Daily Mirror)
World leaders should take climate change seriously.
Extreme weather and rising sea levels are already affecting our food, water, health, and livelihoods. In the not-so-distant future, they will wipe away our homes.
Climate change is making our islands uninhabitable.
If nothing is done, this will result in a huge body of climate refugees who have no place to seek shelter.
The young people here, like me, are the ones who will be the most affected.
So let us join our hands and work together to try to solve this crisis.
Let us protect my village, my island and my country.
Nicole Becker, 20, Argentina
In Argentina, the climate crisis impacts us through droughts and heatwaves.
In the last two years, more than 1500,000 hectares of forests and wetlands have burnt down.
For this reason, over the past year, youth advocates like myself have been meeting with members of parliament here and taking action to pressure them to pass a wetlands law.
World leaders at COP26 should take decisions in line with the Paris agreement and Northern countries should transfer resources to Southern countries in order to make the transition to net-zero carbon emissions.
Lawan, 15, Nigeria
Climate change is having a growing impact in Africa, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources.
In recent months we have seen devastating floods, an invasion of desert locusts and we now face the looming spectre of drought.
I wish governments and world leaders would provide more drainage systems in parts of Nigeria to prevent flooding and help farmers.
Rumana, 17, Bangladesh
Climate change has had a negative impact on Bangladesh.
Drought in our area has brought huge changes in the lives and livelihoods of the people here.
Farmers are losing job opportunities and the rate of seasonal migration is increasing.
I think we need to take strong action now to deal with climate change and become more environmentally friendly.
Due to climate change, young people in the most vulnerable countries are facing threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.
Initiatives need to be taken to help these young people, especially young women.
Financial support is needed from the rich and from the countries responsible for climate change.
We know that children are one of the largest and most promising groups of people in the world.
Children want a liveable world for a better future, which requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In the light of the Paris Agreement, the commitments made by world leaders need to be fully implemented, global carbon emissions must be reduced, and the major industrialised nations must play a key role in doing so.
I deeply believe that positive steps taken by world leaders will help the developing countries of the world to become more tolerant in tackling climate change.
The future world will be an environmentally friendly place for children to live.
Rumana is among children from around the world who took part in a project with ActionAid, UNICEF and partners, to draw their visions for the Earth for BEYOND, a global art project from the Space for Art Foundation. Her work will be shown at an exhibition during COP26 in Glasgow.
Katie Williams, 25, UK
For longer than I've been alive, governments have gathered for COP summits, but young people are frustrated with the slow pace of change and prioritisation of business-as-usual over actually doing something to reduce emissions.
So far, wealthy countries have failed to provide the $100bn a year promised to support developing countries to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Six years on from the Paris Agreement, COP26 is an opportunity for world leaders to start treating the climate crisis with the seriousness it deserves, and make sure those most affected are not left behind.
Nkosilathi Nyathi, 18, Zimbabwe
It is hard to be a child no matter what.
It is even harder to watch your childhood torn apart by climate disaster after climate disaster.
In a space of six years my country, Zimbabwe, has been ravaged by the El Niño and two cyclones.
We walk to school under the scorching sun and write exams in the sweltering heat.
The alternative is missing school altogether due to the massive floods that destroy our schools and homes.
What does this mean for our future?
Climate change is making our lives harder.
The injustice is that climate change is mostly caused by those in developed nations and yet it hurts children in developing countries.
We are the ones with the most at stake.
This is why we need to have a seat at the table in fighting for climate justice solutions.
It is we, the young, that will be affected by climate change.
Young people are the world’s most precious natural resource.
I call on all policymakers to include us in key developmental decisions that may affect our future.
How can something for us actually be for us if we are not included?
Are we not the leaders of tomorrow?
By the look of the environmental crisis, tomorrow may never come.
So we must take the lead today.
I will continue to dedicate my time and resources to advocating for a cleaner world for all.
Evelyn, 9, Brazil
Smoke from cars in the street causes lots of pollution in my community.
There is too much heat, too much garbage, and too many factories that produce smoke.
All of this contributes to global warming.
I’m really sad about this and think people need to be more aware of what is happening.
I ask for help from all world leaders to end the fires in the Amazon.
We must reduce the emission of polluting gases; it is important to increase inspections in forests and apply more severe fines for those who cause deforestation and fires.
Evelyn is among children from around the world who took part in a project with ActionAid, UNICEF and partners, to draw their visions for the Earth for BEYOND, a global art project from the Space for Art Foundation. Her work will be shown at an exhibition during COP26 in Glasgow.
Junior Kevin, 17, Solomon Islands
Collin Leafasia/Daily Mirror)
In my village, climate change is the biggest issue affecting our lives.
The sea levels are rising, causing flooding which damages our crops and fills our freshwater wells.
Food and water shortages are affecting the health of the children here.
People living in coastal areas have started moving inland.
As a result, rivalries over land ownership arise because people are moving to places they don't really belong to.
I want world leaders to pay attention to our concerns and help us to reduce climate change. Help us to wake up from this nightmare.
Priyanka Lalla, 15, Trinidad and Tobago
In Trinidad and Tobago extreme heat, torrential rainfall, flash flooding, sea-level rise and coastal erosion are adversely affecting industries such as construction, tourism, and agriculture.
Climate change is also marginalising those in the lower socio-economic levels who suffer massive losses annually due to floods.
My advocacy work focuses on closing the knowledge gap and ensuring young people, including girls, are empowered to join the fight to build a resilient and regenerative country, region and, ultimately, planet.
Leaders at COP26 must be resolute on an inclusive plan that empowers all global citizens to achieve robust and realisable climate action targets.
Cat Leggat, 27, UK
COP seems like it’s this place where suits and ties meet to discuss the details of sentences, sometimes in a way that makes it feel as if they’ve forgotten that people are already suffering.
It is a place where young people have had to fight to even get a view of the negotiating table.
I believe it should be a place where governments take responsibility; where they sit down and listen to people on the front line of this crisis who have already been dealing with its fall out for a generation; where they choose to pay for past and ongoing harms.
And I hope it will be a chance to provide young people with a future we don’t have to be fearful of.
Sandhya, 14, India
When Cyclone Fani hit India in 2019, the power in our building went off. Our books and other belongings were damaged.
We feared that our building might collapse.
The kit we received from ActionAid enabled us to continue our studies despite our school materials getting damaged by the cyclone.
World leaders should unite and take a decision on massive plantation of trees because when it comes to protecting the climate, trees are the real oxygen generators and planting them worldwide can help climate change.
Trees help clean the air, stabilise the soil and protect biodiversity.
Also, a decision needs to be taken to use less plastic and conserve rainwater.
Sandhya was one of many children that received support from ActionAid India after Cyclone Fani hit Odisha in 2019. She is now a child club leader of her community; an initiative ran by the Centre for Child and Women Development & ActionAid India.
Eddie Rose, 16, UK
The climate crisis is a child rights crisis.
Environmental disasters are already affecting our generation – and this will only get far worse.
We deserve to inherit a fair and safe future; the UK Government must step up, take action and give young people a voice at COP26.
Although here in the UK we haven’t faced climate disaster yet, the crisis is still affecting us.
Our weather is becoming more extreme and widespread eco-anxiety is affecting society at large.
This is feelings of worry, anger, hopelessness or depression in face of the climate crisis, and it disproportionately affects young people.
After all, it is our futures that are the most at stake.
As a member of the UK Committee for UNICEF’s Youth Advisory Board, I advocate for the UK Government to listen to young people and protect child rights, which is incredibly relevant when it comes to climate change.
As world leaders discuss the fate of our futures at COP26, I have a simple message: please listen to young people and take action.
We need world leaders to protect children's lives and rights by making bold, meaningful commitments – and we need them to stick to their promises.
We also need rich countries (such as the UK) to support poorer countries that are disproportionately affected by the crisis.
As a generation, we've been given a crisis to deal with that we did not create.
We've been given a crisis that could impact our futures in devastating, disastrous ways – and yet we are still ignored when we try to raise our concerns.
It's time we're given a seat at the table.
At COP26, it's time for world leaders to listen.
Penelope Lea, 17, Norway
Parts of Norway are arctic areas, like the North seas, the Barents Ocean and Svalbard.
We experience melting of glaciers and permafrost as well as sea ice retreat, with its consequences for nature, wildlife and indigenous people.
In the southern parts of Norway we also experience changes in weather systems.
As a climate activist I use every peaceful means I can think of to contribute.
I work with UNICEF to highlight the importance of understanding the climate – and nature – crisis as a child rights crisis.
We do so to use the Convention on the Rights of the Child to hold the decision makers in Norway accountable.
I also work with other organisations in Norway to preserve biodiversity and to prevent dumping of mining waste in our fjords.
I also work with the media to convey information about the crisis we are in.
Norway has gained most of our wealth through the oil and gas industry.
Our economy still relies on it.
We have the option to make the changes needed, as well as an historic responsibility.
Still, we search for oil further north than ever before.
COP26 should keep leaders to their promises, especially leaders of rich countries like Norway.
Leaders should not just raise their goals on emission cuts, but act on the goals they submit and be honest about how they do it.
Moving the emissions elsewhere is not a solution.
They also need to deliver on climate funding and justice; they have still not delivered on what they previously promised for 2020.
I also call on the world's leaders to lead, meaning giving their people the knowledge, courage and the political solutions required.
Michael Bryan, 20, UK
We are hurtling towards a climate change catastrophe.
Despite this, I am frequently asked why UNICEF – whose mandate is to advocate for the rights of children – is involved in the climate debate at all.
As a member of UNICEF UK's Youth Advisory Board, I want to emphasise the future of children and young people is at stake, where decisions now will determine what that future will look like.
As a medical student, I have seen the extent to which the climate crisis threatens to undo progress in development, global health, and poverty reduction.
It impacts children not only through frequent extreme weather events but the subsequent dislocation of food systems and increase in zoonoses and vector-borne diseases.
It impacts by undermining the social determinants for health including access, shelter, clean air, and fresh water.
In turn, these risks are most acutely felt by children powerless to stop the rising tide.
Even in my hometown of Bournemouth, the spectre of being washed off the map has manifested through flooding.
Children know that the difference will be made not by a single person turning off the lights, but countries making more sustained efforts and being held accountable for this.
As part of the UNICEF delegation at COP26, I will be asking world leaders to engage meaningfully with young people – we are isolated from the top table discussing the appropriation of billions on our behalf, we aren't even in the room.
Governments can demonstrate their commitment by signing the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action.
It calls for the acceleration of investment into youth-responsive adaptation, disaster-risk reduction and mitigation measures.
It emphasises meaningful participation in climate change vis-à-vis education.
As a children's rights crisis, there isn't time for governments to rest on their laurels.
Work with us to develop new solutions, empower us to innovate new technologies, and give us a voice.
Charities helping climate kids
- At COP26, UNICEF UK is urging the UK Government to give children a seat at the table, listen to their views and put them at the heart of the response to the climate crisis.
- To limit the impacts of climate change on the lives of millions of children across the world, Save the Children is calling on the UK and all governments to accelerate their commitments to limit warming to 1.5°C, take serious action on financing and scale up support for adaptation and loss and damage.
- Children from around the world took part in a project with ActionAid, UNICEF and partners, to draw their visions for the Earth for BEYOND, a global art project from the Space for Art Foundation.
UK Youth Climate Coalition is a group of young people aged 18-30 who campaign for climate justice. At COP26 they will be asking the UK government to prioritise: representation at the negotiations for those most affected by the climate crisis; reparations for countries most impacted by climate change that lack the resources to adapt; and taking responsibility for the UK’s historic contribution to climate change.
- The Mirror’s NextGen International project is empowering young people to tell their stories of the climate crisis
- Some names in this article have been changed for safeguarding purposes
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