Always The Children

What causes the disturbing reality of adults so consistently harming the world’s precious, unwitting children with our own ”mature” actions?  Starvation, Water Shortages, Disease, War, Indiscriminate Bombing, Civil Unrest, Lack of Education…we could go on.

In recent years, climate change has been added to this historical list of shame.  Several studies have been published which demonstrate that our failure to address the dire climate changes facing the world will have deleterious health effects on millions of the world’s poorest children.   The UNICEF report entitled  ”Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility“ measured action on targets set in a prior UN study which was aimed at halving child poverty by 2015. It found failure on a broad array of issues from health to survival, education and gender equality.

The report opined climate change could add 40,000-160,000 child deaths a year in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa through lower economic growth. It also noted that if temperatures rose by two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up to 200 million people globally would face hunger – a figure that climbs to 550 million with a temperature rise of three degrees. The UNICEF report said economic damage due to climate change would force parents to withdraw children from schools – often the only place they are guaranteed at least one meal a day – to fetch water and fuel instead.

Environmental changes wrought by climate change will also expand the range of deadly diseases such as malaria, which already kills 800,000 children a year and is now being seen in previously unaffected areas. Scientists predict global average temperatures will rise by between 1.6 and 4.0 degrees Celsius this century due to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels for power and transport, causing floods, famines, violent storms and droughts. An international agreement is being sought on action to ensure temperatures do not rise more than 2.0 degrees.

 ”It is clear that a failure to address climate change is a failure to protect children,” offered one UNICEF director, David Bull. “Those who have contributed least to climate change – the world’s poorest children – are suffering the most.”

Is it a corollary that those who have contributed the most to climate change – the world’s wealthiest adults – are causing the most suffering to children?