Advocating for a Healthier Planet for Every Child
UNICEF activities in COP28, in the United Arab Emirates
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What is COP28?
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the world climate conference to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The 28th session of the COP will be held at Expo City, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 30 November to 13 December 2023. The conference this year brings the world together at a critical moment for global transformative climate action. As UNICEF, our mandate is clear: Advocating for children and their rights to be at the heart of all climate policies since they bear the brunt of the climate crisis.
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How does climate change impact children’s well-being?
One billion children – nearly half of the world’s total child population – are at ‘extremely high risk’ due to a deadly combination of high exposure to climate hazards and insufficient essential services to help them cope
40 million children are having their education disrupted every year because of disasters exacerbated by climate change
82 million children in the MENA region face either high or extremely high climate risks as of 2023
1.5 million new internal displacements in MENA In the past decade, triggered by flooding and other disasters
Why is UNICEF participating in COP28?
The climate crisis threatens the lives, health, and well-being of children. They are the most vulnerable to its effects, and those who live in low-income communities are at particularly high risk of harm. That is why children must not be ignored in the climate debate.
UNICEF is advocating for protecting the rights and well-being of children including the most vulnerable, by adapting essential social services, empowering every child to be a champion for the environment, and fulfilling international sustainability and climate change agreements including rapidly reducing emissions.
At COP28, UNICEF aims to place children at the center of climate action. We are calling on world leaders and the international community to:
- Elevate children within the final COP28 Cover Decision and convene an expert dialogue on children and climate change.
- Embed children and intergeneration equity in the Global Stocktake (GST).
- Include children and climate-resilient essential services within the final decision on the Global Goal for Adaptation (GGA).
- Ensure the Loss and Damage Fund and funding arrangements are child-responsive with child rights embedded in the fund's governance and decision-making process.
A Story From The Middle East and North Africa Region
