terre des hommes expects steps towards realizing children's right to a healthy environment
Osnabrück, November 30, 2023 – The international children's rights organization terre des hommes expects the global community to make a U-turn at the climate conference in Dubai in order to stop the looming climate catastrophe, species extinction and ongoing environmental pollution as quickly as possible.
“This is the only way to safeguard the life chances of children, both now and in the future. Children are the least responsible for the climate crisis, yet they suffer the most from its consequences. Every year, around 1.7 million children under the age of five die from preventable environmental damage,” explains Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of terre des hommes . “With the children’s right to a healthy environment, codified by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in August, states are obligated to develop the necessary countermeasures to ensure a stable climate. These include plans to phase out coal, oil, and natural gas and transition to renewable energy sources, improve air quality, guarantee access to clean water, and much more.”.
In the interest of global climate justice, terre des hommes is also calling for the establishment of a fund to combat climate-related damage and losses, as already agreed upon at the last conference in Egypt. "It is crucial that the needs of children and their particular vulnerability are recognized. So far, this leaves much to be desired; according to the international Coalition for Children's Environmental Rights (CERI), only 2.4 percent of all climate funds are allocated to children's needs. Furthermore, children and young people are rarely seen as agents of change. In terre des hommes ' projects, I encounter numerous strong young people who are actively working for a healthy environment," says Joshua Hofert.
terre des hommes , together with 14 other members of CERI, formulated demands for the enforcement of children's rights at COP 28.