Climate Change and Environmental Issues

Despite three decades of pledges and some progress, the 30th UN climate summit takes place against a backdrop of catastrophic climate disasters that are forcing millions of children from their homes, disrupting their education, and causing hunger and threats to their health and safety.

Over 60 children from 16 African countries are urging their heads of state at the Africa Climate Summit this week to consider their views and experiences in shaping climate policies, with children in most of the continent found to be at high or extremely high risk of the impacts of climate change.

The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) and the Ministry of Environment (MoE) are joint forces in discussions to accelerate access to climate finance for a resilient and adaptive education system, with the support of the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative (CSESI).Participants take a group photo following welcoming remarks from ministry representatives. The workshop brought together stakeholders from the government, development agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations to strengthen education financing strategies. (Photo: Save the Children)Climate change presents an unprecedented threat to children's rights, with millions of children globally facing an extremely high risk from its devastating impacts, which are the hardest hit by the climate crisis. 774 million children are facing the dual threat of high climate risk and poverty. A recent report by Save the Children shows that children born in 2020 will experience, on average, 2.6 times as many drought events, 2.8 times as many river floods, and 6.8 times more heatwaves across their lifetime compared to those born in 1960. [1]Climate change is a global issue impacting sectors, including food security, WASH, public health, socioeconomic development, and education. We notice temperature rises and extreme weather events such as flooding, prolonged drought, forest fires, heat waves, and rising seawater levels.With the support from MoE and partners, especially Save the Children, MoEYS is recently updated on progress in the education sector for NDC2.0 and continues to set high ambitions for NDC3.0, which MoEYS demonstrates and prioritizes on resilience infrastructure, capacity building, integrating environmental and climate change education, safe school programming, and both formal and informal education, said Mr. Pong Pitin, Deputy Director General – Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport.This shows the education sector's high commitment to addressing and responding to climate change and producing quality and capacity human resources, which are also crucial to achieve Cambodia's vision in 2050, Mr. Pong Pitin added. The workshop was presided over by representatives from the Ministry of Environment (MoE), the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS), and Save the Children in Cambodia. On the right, Mr. Pong Pitin, Deputy Director General (MoEYS), Mr. Ouk Navann, Deputy Director General (MoE), in the middle, and Mr. Ros Chanborith, Head of Program Development, Quality, and Impact, on the left. (Photo: Save the Children)Education is one of the most frequently disrupted sectors due to climate-related hazards. Yet, it is often overlooked in policy discussions, investment, and budget allocations, devastatingly impacting children, communities, and society. As such, many challenges persist in ensuring the safety and well-being of children from the impact of climate-related hazards and their education continuity. In Cambodia, flooding of roads has been shown to substantially increase travel times, cutting off access to hospitals and schools. Over 3 million students were affected by climate-related hazards in Cambodia (UNICEF, Global Snapshot of climate-related school disruptions in 2024).[2] According to an estimation by the World Bank, approximately 1% of students' education could be disrupted annually, with 33% and 13% of students affected by flooding in Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces.Despite bearing very little responsibility for the cause of the climate crisis, children's needs and rights are often absent from climate policies and financing. According to indicators to assess child-sensitivity in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), less than half meet this threshold, and research by Save the Children and partners found that only 2.4% of climate finance from four key multilateral climate funds is child-responsive. Strengthening the capacity and understanding of government ministries concerning the current climate finance landscape and how those climate windows can be accessed, and allocating additional climate finance for the education sector, is deemed necessary, said Mr. Ouk Navann, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Environment."As an estimation for the cost analysis to fully implement the Cambodia Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC3.0), Cambodia requires the total amount of 33.34 billion US dollars by 2035. Of these, 23.79 billion US dollars will support mitigation activities, while the proposed adaptation measures need 8.36 billion US dollars. At the same time, the enabling sector, which also includes education, awareness raising, and information, required 185 million US dollars to realize the NDC3.0 ambition."The growing impacts of climate change present significant challenges to Cambodia's education sector, threatening the safety and well-being of the students and teachers, the resilience of school infrastructure and facilities, and the overall education continuity. While Cambodian education authorities have made strides in incorporating climate change and sustainable development principles into educational programs and policies, stronger collaboration and coordination with other key government agencies are essential to effectively address the sector's unique needs and ensure long-term resilience. Additionally, enhancing Cambodia's access to climate finance and funding mechanisms is crucial to supporting the sustainable implementation of climate resilience initiatives within the education sector.The education sector plays a crucial role in society's transformation, responding to climate change and has been mainstreaming and integrating into national policies and frameworks, including the CCCSP 2024-2033 and particularly the NDC3.0, which will be submitted to the UNFCCC before the COP30 in Brazil Mr. OUK Navann, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Environment, said. With the support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the CSESI project brought together 35 participants from various sectors and line ministries, including the National Designed Authority, Direct Access Entity (DAE), Development Partners, Civil Society Organization, and the private sector to discuss the government's adaptation priorities and mapping available climate finance opportunities, and map active climate donors, which can facilitate the government ministries to make informed decisions on accessing climate finance for the education sector's priority activities. Save the Children in Cambodia actively supports the government's ministries including MoE and MoEYS to realize their climate ambitions in becoming a low carbon emission and resilience society through resources allocation and programs interventions that benefit children and their families, including investment in locally led adaptation, child-centered and focused, ensuring the safe and meaningful participation of children in shaping climate policy and action.[1] https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/born-into-the-climate-crisis-2-an-unprecedented-life-protecting-childrens-rights[2] Global-snapshot-climate-related-school-disruptions-2024.pdf

Hear how communities in Southern Sri Lanka are standing strong against disasters

The historic climate change ruling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today is a landmark win for child campaigners, acknowledging the adverse impacts of climate change on child rights, and offering children renewed hope, Save the Children said.

In the bustling streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, a ground-breaking initiative is rewriting the narrative of plastic waste, morphing it from an environmental nuisance into a beacon of hope for countless women. This venture, born from the collaboration between the Inclusive Resilience in Somalia (IRiS) Project and King Plastic, is more than just urban waste management. It's a saga of empowerment, environmental stewardship, and economic revival in one of the globe's most challenging environments.

Almost a third of today’s five-year-olds – about 38 million children – will be spared a lifetime’s “unprecedented” exposure to extreme heat if the world meets the 1.5°C warming target by 2100, Save the Children said.

Families in Vanuatu are adopting climate-smart agricultural techniques such as growing climate resistant crops to prepare for future climate-driven disasters in the wake of devastating Tropical Cyclone Lola 18 months ago.

Climate resilient classrooms in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu – the first to be built by Save the Children – will get a fundraising boost from an epic 4,000km, 90-day journey across New Zealand by two celebrity adventurers.

At least five children with cholera in South Sudan have died on an arduous journey to seek medical treatment, after aid cuts forced their local health services to close in the middle of a major outbreak of the deadly disease, Save the Children said.

Vepaia, a young climate activist from Vanuatu, is heading to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to testify, advocating for the inclusion of children’s rights in the climate justice debate, and calling for an advisory opinion that acknowledges states’ obligations to tackle the climate crisis and protect future generations.