Action on the climate crisis
Protecting, preparing and prioritizing every child for a safe, sustainable and water-secure future.
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- Tiếng Việt
The climate crisis is here and getting worse each year.
The world continues to get warmer at an alarming rate, putting almost every child at risk of more frequent and destructive climate hazards – air pollution, cyclones, disease, flooding, heatwaves, and water scarcity.
As these hazards continue to intensify, more children will be harmed; more will die.
Over 1 billion children are at extremely high risk of severe and destructive climate hazards.
These crises will not affect everyone equally. Children will suffer more than adults, with those in the poorest communities bearing the biggest burden.
Get involved
What’s your opinion about climate change? Do you want your voices to be heard at the largest conference on climate change in the World?
Learn more about the results of the rapid online survey on Vnexpress conducted by UNICEF Viet Nam.
Learn more on the results
Learn what needs to happen
For young people
For policymakers and partners
What needs to happen
Rapid emissions reduction remains the only long term solution, however, because some impacts of climate change are now unavoidable and irreversible, we must immediately save and protect children’s lives by building the resilience of every child and young person to the impacts of this crisis.
UNICEF is calling for:
The Government to PROTECT the health, safety, learning and opportunities of every child by adapting the critical social services they rely on – water and sanitation (WASH), health, education, nutrition, social protection and child protection – so they are resilient to the immediate and evolving impacts of climate change.
The Government to PREPARE children and young people to live in a world of changing climate by improving their ‘adaptive capacity’, ensuring their voices are heard and acted on, and enhancing their education and skills so they can participate in creating a sustainable future.
The Government, businesses and decision makers to PRIORITIZE children and young people in climate funding and resources. Investment in the adaptation and building of climate-resilient social services for children can save and protect lives but remain critically underfunded and under-resourced.
For youth: Get inspired, share and act
To address the climate crisis, everyone needs to understand why it is happening and what can be done to defend against its impacts. Use these resources to introduce yourself to climate change and invite your friends, family and school to join in.
Join the community
Express your views and support for the issues that matter to you on Voices of Youth - UNICEF's digital community for youth, by youth.
For policymakers, researchers and partners
Did you know that the world has already warmed by approximately 1.1C since the 19th century? The years 2015–2021 were the warmest on record.
The world’s children are now more than ever vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate hazards.
With 4.2 billion children expected to be born over the next 30 years, there is an urgent need for action.
Addressing climate change requires international policy action. Addressing water security requires regional and national policy action. By linking climate and water, we can create new pathways to address climate change at a regional and national level.
Climate action around the world
UNICEF works tirelessly to protect children from the effects of climate change. We work at all levels including with governments to highlight and address the impact of climate change on children.