Campaign urges children to be heard on climate change
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which defend the rights of children and adolescents around the world are demanding that international leaders, who are participating in the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, take immediate measures to put children's rights at the center of the debate to contain environmental degradation, global warming, and their consequences.
One of the entities participating in the initiative is Brazil´s Alana Institute, which sent a delegation of mothers to the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the climate conference is being held, until November 18. Headquartered in São Paulo, Alana Institute advocates the urgency of a global action plan to ensure climate justice for children, with special attention to those from countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
The inspiration of the enthusiasts for the implementation of a global strategy is the so-called Gender Action Plan, approved during COP 23, held in 2017 in Bonn, Germany. The aim of this plan is to integrate gender aspects into climate discussions, in particular the importance of women's participation in national and international negotiations.
The organizations leading the campaign also call on the world's political and business leaders to adopt measures that encourage countries to replace the use of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. The organizations also want children themselves, who represent a third of the global population, to be included in the debate on the climate crisis. "[Worldwide], there are 1 billion children who are extremely vulnerable to climate disasters, especially in the Global South. In addition, more than 90 percent of children worldwide are breathing polluted air. The main driver of this is the burning of fossil fuels - and yet governments and corporations continue to explore new fossil fuels in defiance of science," warns Our Kids' Climate NGO on its website.
