Nearly half of the world's children could face "extreme risk" due to the impacts that climate change could bring in the future if the current generation fails to alleviate the problems of global warming.
In a statement, youth activists, including Greta Thunberg, said that children around the world cannot afford any more false promises at this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). They said that every child will have to endure the effects of global warming across all nations.
Climate Change Effect on Children
The U.N. children's agency UNICEF found that nearly all of the 2.2 billion worldwide are exposed to at least one climate or environmental risk, ranging from catastrophic floods to toxic air. A climate panel of the agency, filled with the world's top atmospheric scientists, warned last week that global warming was dangerously close to spiraling out of control.
Experts said that the effects of climate change could include deadly heat waves, hurricanes, and other extreme environmental events that are expected to get worse. The UNICEF index confirmed that children would be the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming, 18-year-old Thunberg said, Yahoo News reported.
The youth activist said that when world leaders meet in November at Glasgow for COP26, they should commit to acting rather than just discussing the issue at hand. Ahead of the index's publication, Thunberg said she did not expect lawmakers to do so but hoped that they could prove her wrong.
The report found that one billion children across the world live in one of 33 countries labeled under the highest level of risk in terms of vulnerability to climate change. The countries included in the report are the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau, among others.
In a statement, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said that the report provided the first-ever "complete picture of where and how children are vulnerable to climate change, and that picture is almost unimaginably dire," The Hill reported.
Fixing the Problem of Global Warming
The report also found that the 10 countries with the highest emissions include China, the United States, Russia, and Japan. These nations account for nearly 70% of global emissions that contribute to climate change. However, children who live in those higher-emitting states face lower risks than other nations.
Many of the higher-risk countries are poorer countries in the southern parts of the world and are where the majority of the effects will be felt. While there are less than three months until COP26, climate scientists are suggesting that if world leaders are to act against global warming and its effects, that time is now.
Some are arguing that the world's younger population is more at risk of suffering the effects and consequences derived from the decisions and actions of previous generations. With that threat, activists and scientists will continue to show the world the reality of the situation and sound the alarm for everyone to be aware, the New York Times reported.
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