Without addressing the climate crisis head on, we will never be able to secure a safe future for children and their families
The threat posed to children and their rights by the climate crisis is real, and it is urgent.
Children most impacted by inequality and discrimination are worst affected, exposing the role of the climate crisis in widening inequality. Save the Children is focusing on protecting the rights of children most impacted by inequality and discrimination, now and for the future.
Recent research confirms that children born today will face on average 2-7 times more extreme weather and climate events than their grandparents. That means more heatwaves, flooding, droughts, crop failures and wildfires.
With your help, Save the Children is working in the U.S. and around the world to help children and their communities adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis.
Together with children and their families, we are pushing governments to recognize the climate crisis
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We are helping children to influence policy and amplify their voices.
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We are supporting communities and governments to prepare for and adapt to future climate shocks through programs and innovation.
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We are also increasing funding for climate action to support children who are the most impacted, yet the least responsible for the climate crisis.
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We are guided by our global strategy commitments to respond to and anticipate the triple threat of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change to children’s rights.
Learn More About Save the Children's Climate Crisis Priorities
Commenting on the IPCC Working Group III's Mitigation report, Yolande Wright, Global Director of Poverty and Climate Change at Save the Children, said: "*The alarming IPCC report shows the window for action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees -- which is what we need to limit deadly climate impacts -- is rapidly closing. Meanwhile, children the world over are making their voices heard, and leaders must listen.*
"The climate crisis is a child rights crisis, particularly impacting those bearing the brunt of inequality and discrimination: the richest 50% of states are responsible for 86% of emissions, while the poorest are responsible for just 14%[i].
Community-Led Adaptation
Save the Children is a Green Climate Fund accredited entity, aiming to help scale up locally-led approaches to adaptation. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world’s largest climate fund ($10 billion pledged). Its mission is to provide funding for projects that address the impact of climate change in the places hit the hardest, namely countries in Africa, small island nations, and the lowest income nations.
The GCF was established by the United Nations as part of its Framework Convention on Climate Change. Because of this, partners seeking funding must be accredited through a rigorous process designed to single out all but the best organizations.
In over a decade of existence, the GCF has only accredited 100 organizations. Our current pipeline of projects span Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Each project is an opportunity to help communities adopt climate change adaptation activities that improve nutrition, water, sanitation and health, expand green job employment, and incorporate climate-sensitive agricultural practices.
Anticipatory Action
Given the scale of humanitarian emergencies is increasing exponentially, we are working with humanitarian and development organizations, governments and affected communities to move from a reactive to a proactive approach to addressing climate-driven emergencies. Together we are leveraging the power of improved forecasting and communities’ own capacities to anticipate and mitigate the impact on children and their families of climate-driven emergencies.
How are we doing this? Anticipatory Action means action taken in advance of a predicted hazard to mitigate impact on communities. Anticipatory Action links forecasting of hazards and expected humanitarian impact with triggers for specific actions to be implemented before or immediately after a predicted shock. Acting early to mitigate humanitarian disaster is not only possible—it can save lives, preserve development gains, reduce costs and improve longer-term outcomes for communities.[1] Children and their families can better cope and adapt to climate change when they have access to information on the risks they face and early warnings of imminent disaster. For example, using data warning systems and other emergency triggers to promptly release cash assistance, combined with activities based on needs established by the community – like sandbagging embankments or bridge repair – are effective ways we help families stay safe.”
[1] The Evidence Base on Anticipatory Action by WFP.
Green Jobs
Meeting the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires rapid decarbonization of the economy, leading to a massive shift toward a more circular economy, regenerative agriculture and greener jobs. Building on decades of experience in youth economic empowerment programs, Save the Children is working to help young people access new and green employment opportunities so they can help their families to end the cycle of poverty and contribute to future green economies.
With a livelihoods program that has already reached 1,000,000 youth in 47 countries, Save the Children’s experience and our network of private and public partnerships makes us uniquely positioned to connect young people with green jobs.
Advocating for and With Children for Climate Justice
We stand behind, and alongside, the student activists demanding action on the climate crisis. Young people across the globe are leading movements for environmental change. Our Generation Hope campaigns advocate alongside children to limit catastrophic climate change, tackle inequality, and ensure children’s rights are at the heart of responses at local, national and global levels.
Designed in the global south, in consultation with young activists themselves, Shift For Our Planet is a Save the Children campaign accelerator that supports changemakers 15-25 years old to transform societal norms that lay at the heart of global sustainability issues. Campaigns focus on the adoption of climate-positive behaviors within local communities.
Education for Climate
Green Generation aims to:
- increase knowledge about climate change and environmental issues
- foster positive attitudes towards nature and preservation of natural resources
- strengthen children’s leadership on environmental issues, as well as crucial 21st-century skills: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity
Children have a unique capacity to learn and practice new skills. They are also excellent leaders of change, promoting environmentally-friendly behaviors in their homes and communities.
The Green Generation model is based on the project-based learning method that puts children in the driver’s seat and lets them identify priorities, suggest activities, lead and implement the activities and reflect upon experiences and lessons learned. This pedagogical approach supports the development of critical 21st century skills like leadership, communication, collaboration and creativity – skills which have not been the focus of traditional education systems but are critical enablers for children as leaders of the environmental action movement.
Born Into the Climate Crisis
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