UN talks seek urgent solutions for children bearing brunt of climate crisis
Amid warnings of the disproportionate climate impacts faced by the world’s children, and particularly by girls, UN climate talks in Germany will on Tuesday host a day of “expert dialogue” aimed at offering solutions to reverse the injustice.
The event, taking place in Bonn, comes as analysis published this week by the Save the Children charity shows the number of children experiencing crisis levels of hunger due to extreme weather has doubled over the past five years.
The latest data indicates a 20 percent rise in "crisis" phase hunger in 2023 alone – bringing to 33 million the number of children affected.
That number was 13 million in 2018.
According to Save the Children, those impacted live in 18 countries where climate events such as droughts, cyclones and floods are the primary drivers of food insecurity.
'Child rights crisis'
"At its heart, the climate crisis is a child rights crisis," said Jack Wakefield, the charity’s global policy lead for climate change.
"Children are at huge risk, despite being the least responsible for soaring global emissions."
Inadequate food supplies puts children at high risk of acute malnutrition, which can cause stunting, increase their susceptibility to diseases, and impact their mental and physical development.
Read more on RFI English
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Climate disasters uproot tens of millions of children, Unicef reports
A billion children at risk of climate shocks, Unicef warns
Global food insecurity surges as almost 300 million face 'acute hunger': report
