CAP-2030 works to put children's health and well-being at the heart of all policies, to ensure an equitable and sustainable future. We implement the recommendations of the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission by promoting children's rights and protecting their health through science, advocacy and coalition-building. - extract from WHO website.
Watch the full documentary here.
What can we expect at the launch of CAP-2030?
Climate change can perhaps be considered the most important global health challenge of our time. The 2.4 billion children living on our planet are expected to bear the brunt of the disease burden associated with climate change: almost 90 %, and every child will be affected in some way.
Children are already suffering from climate change - there are many direct and indirect impacts, including food and water insecurity, vector-borne and water-borne diseases, heat stress, respiratory illnesses, allergies and poor mental health. Some impacts occur in utero and can last throughout the child's life.
That's why, at the global launch of the “Children in All Policies 2030” initiative, which comes just ahead of Earth Day and the Climate Leaders Summit, our panel of health and climate experts from around the world will have a passionate and informed conversation about the massive threat posed by climate change to children's health and well-being, and what we all urgently need to do about it.
In addition, a short documentary on new threats to children's health, including climate change, will be premiered. The film is based on a landmark report by the Commission WHO-UNICEF-Lancet title A future for the world's children? Children's futures are challenged not only by the existential threat of climate change, but also by the challenges posed by harmful commercial marketing, road accidents, air pollution, poor housing conditions, lack of playgrounds, insecurity and violence.
Finally, CAP-2030 will be presented for the first time at global level, and will announce the nine pilot countries in which it will be implemented to ensure a fair and sustainable future for children.
Why is it so important to invest in children's health and future? What's at stake?
Action is needed in all sectors to protect children from these threats. If we delay action, we risk reversing the progress made in child survival over the last two or three decades on a global scale. We also run the risk of creating an entire generation, if not generations of’ children and individuals, who will not have achieved the highest level of health they could have attained. When health problems appear at an early age, poor health can last for many years, and the cost of chronic illness is high. According to the calculations, investing in children's health and prevention is highly cost-effective.
The cost of climate change will be much higher if we delay the transition to renewable energies and continue to use fossil fuels. According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, natural disasters in 2020 will cost the U.S. around $100 billion. Inhabitants of regions such as the lowlands of Bangladesh are already seeing their farmland and homes completely submerged, losing their livelihoods and causing large-scale population displacement. Many countries are also suffering adverse effects. We have already pledged today that global warming will reach 0.5°C, and it is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052, if current trends continue. To avoid sinking any further, we really have no more time to lose in the fight against the climate crisis.
The good news is that each and every one of us can take steps right now to contribute to stop climate change and improve our health, for example by adopting green energies, getting around more by active means of transport, such as walking or cycling, and adopting a more plant-based diet. It's also important to speak out, as many climate activists are doing, and vote for governments that prioritize climate and health by making local, national and global commitments and sticking to them.
What conversations should we be having today on this subject, and with whom?
In addition to conversations about the climate crisis and children's health with our political leaders at local, state and national levels and across all sectors, we need to consult children. Their concerns, hopes and ideas need to be heard and taken into account in policies, particularly on climate change mitigation, adaptation and disaster preparedness. Children's needs are not the same as those of adults, and we need to do a better job of meeting them.
We need to draw attention to the multiple impacts of the climate emergency on children's health and well-being, the high cost to individuals and societies, and encourage the implementation of solutions identified by child health experts and other scientists. Above all, we must insist on the need for urgent action before further damage is done.
Educational establishments, from elementary school to university, and beyond, in adult continuing education, are a good starting point for discussions, as we still have a long way to go when it comes to climate awareness, which is one of the keys to driving change.
How do CAP-2030 and #LearningPlanet plan to work together to achieve common goals?
CAP-2030 and #LearningPlanet share many objectives - notably around education and mobilizing people of all generations for a sustainable future - and working methods, with an emphasis on inclusive and collaborative ways of sharing knowledge. CAP-2030 and #LP are therefore working together to build intergenerational coalitions to imagine and build a better future, and to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
In practical terms, this means connecting like-minded people by jointly organizing a youth advocacy circle, to facilitate the participation of youth-led organizations in scientific and decision-making bodies working on the most important issues of our time. Coalition-building work will also include joint support for youth assemblies, the organization of webinars and other events to create momentum and links between stakeholders, and the conduct of awareness-raising actions, for example on Universal Children's Day.
Photo credit: ogan Abassi / UN Photo
