The climate-changed child: The Children’s Climate Risk Index for Cambodia
An in-depth look at how children in Cambodia are exposed to and affected by climate change and environmental hazards
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The climate and environmental crisis is not just changing the planet – it is changing children. From the moment of conception until they grow into adulthood, the health and development of children’s brains, lungs, immune systems, and other critical functions are affected by the environment they grow up in. Children are not like little adults. Their bodies and minds are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate and environmental change such as pollution, deadly diseases, and extreme weather.
The environmental and climate crisis is a child rights crisis. As climate hazards continue to intensify across the world, more children are losing their chance to reach their full potential and their fundamental right to survive and thrive.
In 2021, UNICEF’s global Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) ranked Cambodia 46th out of 163 countries, placing it in the top third of countries facing high risks associated with climate change. From the largest cities to the smallest and most rural communities, children are facing unprecedented challenges from natural and human-made disasters, and existing inequalities are worsening.
The CCRI for Cambodia gives us, for the first time, a clearer picture of disparities within the country by providing detailed, child-centred data at the commune level, highlighting areas where children are most at risk due to a lack of essential services. This tool has been developed as a critical resource for developing targeted, effective responses to climate risks that consider children’s unique needs and vulnerabilities, a step towards creating a climate-resilient future for all.
What do the findings reveal? Watch the video to find out.
The CCRI for Cambodia provides a worrying picture of both the levels of climate, environmental, and disaster risks the poorest and most deprived children are exposed to, and the challenges they face in accessing essential and lifesaving services.
- About 1.9 million children, over one third of Cambodia's children, live in communes with high or very high climate risk. Most of these communes are in rural areas, particularly in the northeastern and Tonle Sap Lake regions, which are among the poorest in Cambodia and home to many indigenous and ethnic minority groups.
- Approximately 2.3 million children, nearly half of Cambodia’s children, live in communes that are highly or very highly exposed to combined climate and environmental hazards, shocks, and stresses.
- An estimated 2.2 million children, nearly half of the country’s children, live in communes with high or very high exposure to riverine floods.
- Around 3 million children, more than half of Cambodia’s children, live in communes with high or very high exposure to vector-borne diseases.
- An estimated 2.7 million children, half the country’s children, live in communes with high or very high exposure to air pollution.
UNICEF is calling on governments, businesses, and relevant actors to:
- Increase investment in climate adaptation and resilience in key services for children to ensure that all girls and boys have access to healthcare, quality education, and a safe, clean environment.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support the social sector's transition to renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power.
- Provide children with climate education and green skills both in schools and throughout their learning journey.
- Raise public awareness about environmental health risks and climate change, including among youth and children, parents/caregivers, media and digital advocates, and leaders in both the public and private sectors, particularly at the sub-national levels.
- Include young people in all national, regional, and international climate negotiations and decisions, including at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP). Children and young people must be included in all climate-related decision-making.
What is Cambodia’s CCRI?
Developed by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with UNICEF, the Children’s Climate Risk Index for Cambodia (CCRI) offers an in-depth look at how children in Cambodia are exposed to and affected by climate and environmental hazards. This index is the first of its kind, focusing on the lowest administrative level (commune), that provides a detailed view of children's vulnerabilities based on their access to essential services such as health, education, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), and social and child protection. It has been adapted from the framework of UNICEF’s global Children’s Climate Risk Index.