THE United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) says the ongoing United Nations climate change conference (COP29) must recognise the disproportionate impact of climate change on children.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is attending the conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where indications are that deliberations will focus on increasing funding for climate action.
Unicef says heads of States should secure a dramatic increase in climate financing for children.
“Schools are being flooded, health services washed away and access to food is evaporating,” Unicef said.
“The climate crisis is impacting children the most, their health, their safety, their very ability to survive and lead fulfilling lives.
“Almost 1 billion children are living under extremely high risk of climate change impacts.”
“COP29 should also guarantee that all new NDCs (nationally determined contributions) are child sensitive and respond to the disproportionate impact of climate change on children”.
In a separate report, ActionAid International’s global lead on climate justice, Teresa Anderson, said countries that caused the climate crisis must be made to pay to fix the mess.
“Frontline countries which have done almost nothing to cause the problem are being pushed deeper into debt by the climate crisis,” she said.
"Yet they are the ones getting stuck with an escalating climate bill as they bear the costs of recovering from disasters, preparing for future impacts and transitioning to green technologies.
“Climate-hit countries desperately need COP29 to agree to a new climate finance goal worth trillions of dollars in grants each year.”
ActionAid senior policy analyst Kelly Stone said climate finance was at the core of an equitable, fair share approach to climate action.
“The world can only meet the goals of the Paris Agreement if everyone does their part and for rich, developed countries like the US that includes real, grant-based climate finance,” Stone said.
In a position paper ahead of COP29, the ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife highlighted the importance of climate financing.
A youth climate activist attending COP29, Rodney Mutombo, said Zimbabwe had not been spared the impacts of the climate crisis.
“Without adequate finances, vulnerable communities will be unable to adapt and mitigate against climate-induced losses and damages they contributed the least to,” Mutombo said.
“Rich countries need to take up their responsibility at this COP. If world leaders fail to agree on a meaningful new finance goal, it will be a failure on humanity especially young people and women in the Global South.
