Children are already among those who suffer the most from flooding, heat stress, water scarcity, poverty, and hunger due to climate change. But “today’s children and future generations” are even more likely to be left “exposed and vulnerable” unless governments and societies make immediate and “drastic” cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for the climate chaos occurring worldwide.
So concludes a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations entity that provides governments at all levels with scientific information they can use to develop climate policies.
“We know that global warming is already changing much of the world,” the IPCC writes. “Its impacts will intensify in the coming decades with profound implications for all aspects of human life around the world. Our food and water supplies, our cities, infrastructure and economies as well as our health and well-being will be affected.”
The IPCC analysts previously noted that children age 10 or younger in the year 2020 are projected to experience a nearly four- or five-fold increase in extreme weather events by 2100. While the news is not good for children anywhere, those living in disadvantaged communities around the globe, will likely suffer the most. For example, youths in coastal South and Southeast Asia could lose their homes and communities because of flooding caused by unavoidable sea-level rise. Children growing up in South America will face an increasing number of days with water scarcity and restricted water access, especially those living in cities and in rural areas that depend on water from glaciers in the Andes that are shrinking or, in some cases, disappearing entirely. Central American youths will experience more frequent and stronger storms or hurricanes and heavy rainfall, causing river flooding.
“Today’s young people and future generations will also witness stronger negative effects of climate change on food production and availability,” warns the IPCC. “The warmer it gets, the more difficult it will become to grow or produce, transport, distribute, buy, and store food—a trend that is projected to hit poor populations the hardest. Depending on future policies and climate and adaptation actions taken, the number of people suffering from hunger in 2050 will range from 8 million to up to 80 million people,” many of whom will be young. Under a high vulnerability–high warming scenario, up to 183 million additional people are projected to become undernourished in low-income countries because of climate change by 2050.
In Africa, where 40% of the population is under 15 years old, the IPCC predicts that climate change will significantly increase the number of children with severe stunting (impaired growth and development, which often leads to limited physical and cognitive potential). Climate change is also likely to undermine children’s educational attainment, thus reducing their chances for well-paid jobs or higher incomes later in life.
Globally, the percentage of the population of all ages exposed to deadly climate-related heat stress is projected to increase from today’s 30% to 48–76% by the end of the century, depending on future warming levels and location. Further, climate change will impact water quality and availability for hygiene, food production, and ecosystems due to floods and droughts. Globally, 800 million to 3 billion people are projected to experience chronic water scarcity due to droughts induced by the climate crisis.
As dire as these projections are, the IPCC says in the report released today that “these risks can be reduced substantially by taking urgent action to limit global warming” while doing more to adapt to the changes that are already underway. Building energy-efficient infrastructure, ending the use of oil and coal, using more solar and wind, switching to low-carbon housing and public transportation, and other development that is “climate resilient” are the keys.
Climate-resilient development offers the added benefit of cleaning up the air. “The economic benefits for people’s health from air quality improvements alone would be roughly the same as, or possibly even larger than, the cost of reducing or avoiding emissions,” the IPCC declares.
“The choices made in the next few years will play a critical role in deciding our future and that of generations to come.”
“If we act now, we can still secure a livable sustainable future for all.”