Funds for world’s climate hotspots woefully neglect the needs of children, new report finds

The report finds just 2.4 percent of key global climate funds can be classified as child-responsive, which refers to supporting activities that uphold the rights of children. According to UNICEF’s Children’s Climate Risk Index, more than a billion children are at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis. 

The study, Falling short: addressing the climate finance gap for children used a set of three criteria to assess if climate finance from key multilateral climate funds (MCFs) serving the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement were: addressing the distinct and heightened risks they experience from the climate crisis, strengthening the resilience of child-critical social services and empowering children as agents of change. 

The report found that out of all the money given by MCFs for climate-related projects over a period of 17 years until March 2023, a small portion (2.4%) met all three of the requirements, amounting to only $1.2 billion (a $70.6 million annual average).  

The UK has committed to some of the funds analysed, having pledged £1.44 billion for 2020-2023 to the Green Climate Fund1, and £330 million from 2022-2026 to the Global Environment Facility2. 

Less than 4% of the projects, amounting to just 7% of MCF investment ($2.58 billion), give explicit and meaningful consideration to the needs and involvement of girls. The report, informed by the voices of children around the world, highlights that children are often viewed as a vulnerable group rather than being recognised as active stakeholders or agents of change. 

Maria Marshall, a 13-year-old UNICEF child advocate and climate activist from Barbados said, “Children are the future, but our future is shaped by the actions of those making decisions in the present, and our voices are not being heard. As this report shows, funding climate solutions is an obligation, but how that money is spent also matters. Children’s needs and perspectives must be included.” 

Amelia Whitworth, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research at Plan International UK, says: 

“The heartbreaking reality is that children are being neglected in the global response to climate change. A vital part of adapting to climate change is ensuring investment directly addresses the needs of children, especially girls, who are often most vulnerable to its impacts. We know that in times of crisis, girls are at greater risk from child marriage, early pregnancy, and gender-based violence. Extreme and changing weather patterns collide with factors like financial pressures, meaning they are more likely to drop out of school. Climate finance, as it stands, needs to change.” 

Children contributing to the report said that they face increased risks because of climate change. A teenage girl in Zimbabwe said, “In Chiredzi, we learned that some girls cannot swim across flooded rivers to go to school or go home whilst boys can. Girls must walk for up to 10-15km to get to school. They get tired along the way before they even start classes.” A 13-year-old boy from Bangladesh added, “Lots of large-scale disasters hit our district which causes people to become impoverished, and children like us are engaged in child labour.” 

Kelley Toole, Global Head of Climate Change at Save the Children, says:  

“Children, especially those already affected by inequality and discrimination, have done the least to cause climate change but are most affected by it. Climate finance offers an opportunity to tackle these injustices by considering the needs and perspectives of children. This has been woefully inadequate to date but can and must change. To really tackle the climate crisis, we must put child rights at the heart of our response and ensure children’s voices are heard”. 

Paloma Escudero, Special Adviser for Climate Advocacy at UNICEF, says:  

“Every child is exposed to at least one - and often multiple - climate hazards. The finance and investment that is desperately needed to adapt critical social services like health and water to climate hazards is insufficient and largely blind to the urgent and unique needs of children. This must change. The climate crisis is a child rights crisis, and climate finance must reflect this.” 

While MCFs provide a relatively small share of overall climate finance, the degree to which these funds consider children matters greatly. MCFs have a vital role to play in agenda-setting, and in catalysing and coordinating investments by other public and private finance institutions, including at national levels, which are necessary to drive a broader change. 

Children are disproportionately vulnerable to water and food scarcity, water-borne diseases, and physical and psychological trauma, all of which have been linked to both extreme weather events and slow-onset climate effects. There is also evidence that changing weather patterns are disrupting children’s access to basic services such as education, healthcare, and clean drinking water. 

The CERI coalition is urging multilateral climate funds, as well as other climate finance providers providing climate finance at both the international and national levels, to act quickly and address the adaptation gap. They are specifically calling for funding to cover losses and damages caused by climate change. This funding should prioritise the well-being of children and critical social services that support them. The focus should be on reaching and assisting the children who are most vulnerable and at high risk due to climate impacts. 

References

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-international-climate-finance-strategy
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/countries-call-for-action-to-finance-nature-recovery-ahead-of-cop15