Climate finance for children in Latin America | Plan International Latin America

In a groundbreaking advocacy brief, the child rights organisations CERI, Plan International, Save the Children and UNICEF bring attention to the critical lack of climate finance for children in the Latin American and Caribbean region and call for urgent action.

Children, especially during their first 1,000 days, are physically, physiologically, and mentally more vulnerable than adults to the impacts of the climate crisis, such as water and food scarcity, vector and water-borne diseases, and physical and psychological trauma linked to both extreme weather events and slow-onset climate hazards.

In the Latin American and Caribbean region, 169 million children (4 in 5 children) are living at high climate risk and 10.9 million children face the triple burden of high climate risk, poverty, and conflict. Climate change disrupts the availability of fundamental social services crucial for the development and wellbeing of children, including health care, education, access to food, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, clean energy, and child and social protection services.

The climate crisis also contributes to a rise in child labour, child marriage, and forced migration, exposing children to increased risks of human trafficking, gender-based violence, abuse, and exploitation. The impacts are particularly severe for girls and children facing different forms of discrimination and inequality, such as indigenous and ethnic minority children, displaced or migrant children, and children with disabilities.

Recommendations:

Scale up child and gender-responsive climate finance.

Bolster child-responsive approaches in climate finance policies, strategies, plans and guidance.
Integrate child-responsive approaches into climate finance policies, strategies, plans, and guidance.

This report gives recommendations on ways to close the finance gap and better serve children affected by the climate emergency.