Children are Paying the Price of Climate Change: Placing Children at the Heart of COP28 Decisions on Loss and Damage?

By World Vision New Zealand's climate specialist Dr Olivia Yates

COP28 is before us, and the decisions made over the next few weeks will shape the world inherited by future generations. It marks the first time global, instead of national, progress to reduce emissions will be measured.??

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But a major focus of this year’s United Nations climate change conference will be critical decisions on loss and damage funding, where the rich countries who?contaminate the planet will pay for the destruction caused by?climate change to low-income countries.??

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With children bearing the brunt of these impacts, Aotearoa New Zealand and other wealthy nations will need to commit to fostering intergenerational justice for children everywhere.??

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COP aims to curb global temperature rises to within safe levels by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The commitments made at COP21 in Paris seven years ago specifically sought to limit global warming to well below 2?C by 2100, with an aspirational 1.5?C target to prevent irreversible climate breakdown.?

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However, according to the UN’s first Global Stocktake, a tool for evaluating collective progress towards Paris Agreement goals, the planet is already staring down the barrel of a temperature rise far above 1.5?C. The Stocktake projects a frightening 2.6-2.7?C increase by the century’s end, accompanied by intensifying extreme weather events and sea level rise. This dystopian future is less than 80 years away – within the lifetime of a child born today.??

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Children worldwide are already feeling the impact of climate change, experiencing violations of basic human rights related to access to health, water, education, and life. This not only undoes decades of progress toward global sustainable development but also exacerbates conflict, hunger, and poverty, disproportionately affecting children. On top of this, children often find themselves excluded from the decision-making processes, further increasing their vulnerability to climate impacts.??

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One might expect wealthy countries – those most responsible for these unfair impacts on children – to assist other nations in preventing and preparing for future destruction. Indeed, this was the intention in 2010, when wealthy industrialised countries committed to mobilising US$100 billion (NZ$164 billion) in ‘climate finance’ annually by 2020 for mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (reducing the impact of emissions) in low-income countries. However, by 2020, this goal remained unfulfilled. Acknowledging a US$30 billion (NZ$49 billion) shortfall, countries pushed the deadline to 2025.?

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The New Zealand Government has commendably committed NZ$1.3 billion to climate finance by 2025, which prioritises the Pacific and utilises grants instead of loans, unlike in many other countries. However, the bar is low. These achievements must be weighed against the global failure to reach the US$100 (NZ$164) billion finance goal.?

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Signatories are likely to finally reach this finance goal at COP28 this year, marking a step towards justice for countries unfairly impacted by climate change. Yet, children remain conspicuously absent from the discussions, with a meagre 2.4% of climate finance allocated to activities addressing their needs, completely disregarding the impacts on future generations.?

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Adding to this oversight, current finance goals omit funding for loss and damage – the destruction caused by climate change in frontline countries, paid for by the biggest emitters. Major emitters have repeatedly held up progress on loss and damage, fearing legal liability for their polluting activities and the downstream destruction faced by frontline countries. But with each delay, the growing burden of loss and damage is passed on to today’s children, the leaders of tomorrow.??

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A significant step was taken at COP27 to address this funding gap, with the historic decision to establish a funding mechanism for loss and damage. At the time, several wealthy countries pledged money to the fund, including Aotearoa New Zealand, who promised NZ$20 million. However, most pledges – including Aotearoa New Zealand’s – were not separate from existing climate finance promises, but simply repurposed money, taken from current promises of funding.??

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Countries on the frontlines of climate change deserve some form of compensation for loss and damage. For example, the average person in Vanuatu has a carbon footprint about thirteen times smaller than someone living in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, Ni-Vanuatu children experience some of the highest exposure to repeated climate disasters compared to children globally. According to a teenage girl from Vanuatu, extreme, unseasonal cyclones are quickly becoming routine; “it’s just how life is here, and we can’t escape that”.?

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In the face of such injustices, it is unsurprising that Vanuatu leads the world on loss and damage. Last year, Vanuatu released a trailblazing plan to tackle damage from rising sea levels and extreme weather. The exhaustive plan will cost NZ$178 million – to be mostly covered by donor countries – for affordable micro-insurance, climate-resilient infrastructure, essential healthcare, and possible community relocation by 2030.?

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But some losses simply cannot be compensated. Beyond the material expenses of relocation, like new housing and transport, relocated communities bear the immeasurable cost on their well-being. For Pacific peoples, land is sacred; the source of their identities and cultures. Separation from ancestral lands can induce profound grief, leading to enduring psychosocial trauma. This places a heavy burden on many Pacific children, who fear losing their languages, cultures and identities if climate change renders their homelands unliveable.??

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World Vision believes that Aotearoa New Zealand has a responsibility to listen to and stand in solidarity with Pacific children. Our country has historically claimed to be a global leader and ally to the Pacific, and promised to “promote Pacific resilience”, “effective global action”, universal human rights and meaningful inclusion of those most impacted at COP28.???

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For these lofty goals to ring true, our country’s domestic policies must align with similar principles. For instance, Aotearoa New Zealand is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, emphasising children’s rights to protection from climate impacts and input into decisions concerning them. Despite this, Aotearoa New Zealand has yet to ensure meaningful access for children and young people – especially Māori, Pacific, and children from low-income households - to climate change planning and decision-making.?

? In the past, climate finance has overlooked children’s rights, but with COP28 on the horizon, we have another chance to position children right at the centre. Speaking from their lived experiences, children offer insights that ensure funds are allocated transparently and effectively. They can act as a check against potential mismanagement driven by political or financial interests, fostering accountability and reducing the risk of funds that neglect children’s needs.??

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All countries should support children to have meaningful input on key decisions relating to loss and damage. This could look like setting up a child advisory committee so that children can continue to shape the fund into the future. This could also look like explicitly mentioning children’s rights in the final agreement on loss and damage, crucial for holding states accountable to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.?

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And for (not-so) little-old Aotearoa New Zealand, our country must provide tangible evidence of global climate leadership for the sake of children worldwide. No more hollow promises of financial support; New Zealand should demonstrate unwavering dedication to fair climate finance, ensuring a more equitable and sustainable future for Pacific children in generations to come.?