EPPN Series on Children: Kids and Climate Change

May 19, 2022

Office of Government Relations

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O heavenly Father, who hast filled the world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold thy gracious hand in all thy works; that, rejoicing in thy whole creation, we may learn to serve thee with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer, pg. 814

While climate change significantly impacts the global population, children are often more vulnerable to its effects than adults. Estimates show that children today will face three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents. In the short term, this causes injury, damage to communities, forced migration, food shortages, and water contamination. Long-term, it causes major mental health disorders, malnutrition, disease outbreaks, interruptions to children’s education, and the breakdown of social networks and families. While every child is at risk, approximately 1 billion children (about half of all children) are at “extremely high risk” of the negative impacts of climate change.

Climate change aggravates the principal causes of migration, including food insecurity, conflict, economic instability, and natural disasters. While children often migrate with adult companions or family members, many children cross borders unaccompanied. Migration exacerbates preexisting conditions while also exposing migrant children to new diseases. It can cause or worsen mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, and PTSD. These symptoms are seen at both a family and an individual level, worsening an already extreme adjustment. Displacement will continue, both nationally and internationally, as places become increasingly uninhabitable due to climate-related issues.

In the United States, storms and wildfires cause temporary or permanent displacement within the country, disrupting children’s lives and precipitating mental and physical health issues. Extreme temperatures prevent children from spending time outside, which research shows is beneficial for their development. The top 10 cities in the U.S. with the youngest populations all experienced extreme weather events in the last year, primarily heatwaves which have steadily increased in the last 30 years. This trend especially impacts children of color and lower-income families who are more likely to live in areas with limited access to green spaces, which in turn causes those neighborhoods to be hotter than wealthier, whiter neighborhoods in the same city.

While extreme weather presents its own dangers, air pollution is a greater threat to children than it is to adults. Children have faster heart rates and breathe more frequently making them more susceptible to breathing issues. 2 billion children (almost 90%) are highly exposed to air pollution and thousands have died due to complications from this exposure. In the United States there are over 5 million children with asthma, many of whom live below the poverty line. Improving air quality has direct, positive effects on children’s health.

Beyond poor air quality, flooding increases the likelihood of mold outbreaks which are more harmful to those with asthma and other preexisting conditions. Flooding also causes water contamination and diarrheal disease outbreaks that are especially dangerous for children under 5 and infants. Higher temperatures and changing weather patterns increase disease outbreaks. Children raised in warmer climates will see higher rates of dengue, malaria, and zika, while children in cooler climates will see increases in Lyme disease due to hotter summers.

The significance of climate change is not lost on children. While its consequences are being felt more frequently, so too are the voices of youth from all over the world. They are putting themselves at the front and center of the climate justice movement, continuously demanding political leaders make greater changes to protect the environment and future generations.

Greta Thunberg is one of the most prominent climate activists and has inspired millions to organize and join protests and school walkouts all over the world. She has cofounded Fridays for Future, a youth-lead organization which helps young people organize their own climate strikes.

The Children’s Climate Summit in Bangladesh released their declaration in 2020, calling for significant political changes to protect Bangladesh from the climate crisis.

Children vs Climate Crisis is an international coalition of children petitioning the UN and the world’s leading economic powers to be held accountable for inaction on the climate crisis. They demand major changes to protect children around the world, citing the climate crisis as a violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child.

Unless we take immediate action to address climate change, we will continue to put the health and wellbeing of children around the world at risk. Combating it requires substantial political and economic changes to be made. Necessary changes include the major reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, building resilient infrastructure, and keeping the focus on the future rather than just the present. Listening and upholding the voices of the young is critical to both saving children’s lives and ensuring they have a future.

Additional Resources:

United Nations: World Children’s Day

Princeton-Brookings: The Future of Children

UNICEF: Children’s Climate Risk Index

General Convention Resolutions:

2006-C018: Recognize Global Warming and Reaffirm Church’s Environmental Responsibility

1988-D163: Request Resources and Advocacy on Behalf of Children

1979-B098: Promote the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child

1973-B106: Calls on the Church to Protect the Earth and Oppose Environmental Threats

Next in the Series:

EPPN Series on Children: The Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS