COP28: Youth call for urgent action on climate finance

Given that children are more physically vulnerable than adults to extreme weather, droughts, and floods, Grace Ineza Umuhoza, a Rwandan eco-feminist and child advocate, has called for increased climate finance to the newly adopted disaster fund known as the “Loss and Damage Fund”. ALSO READ: Disaster response: Community health workers deployed to support children A Loss and Damage Fund was agreed on at the opening plenary of the first day of the COP28 summit – something the global south has been demanding for decades. Loss and damage refer to the destruction the climate crisis is already wreaking on lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. ALSO READ: Rwanda among beneficiaries as COP28 adopts disaster fund Vulnerable and poor countries, which did little to cause the climate crisis, want to hold the biggest fossil fuel-polluting countries liable for the pain and suffering they are experiencing from climate breakdown However, the $700 million so far pledged by wealthy nations most responsible for the climate emergency covers less than 0.2 per cent of what is needed every year. Estimates for the annual cost of the damage have varied from $100bn to $580bn. Umuhoza, who is at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) advocating for children affected by climate disasters, was speaking to The New Times, last week after moderating a side event dubbed “Educating the next generation of Climate Action Champions” at Rwanda Pavilion in UAE, Dubai. ALSO READ: One environmentalist’s drive to get youth to be climate actors The panel she moderated brought together children from India, Malawi, Nigeria, Canada, and others. “Rwandan children need the Loss and Damage Fund because children are vulnerable. When you see what happened in Rwanda in May this year, schools were destroyed by disasters and children were much more affected. If the Loss and Damage Fund is there, they recover faster. The fund could help the country avoid heavy debt in rehabilitating the damages,” she said. ALSO READ: Grieving mother still searching for 7-year-old son missing under landslide 10% of Rwandan children exposed to riverine flooding According to a report by UNICEF released in 2023, 10 per cent of children are exposed to flooding on river banks predominantly in the northern and western provinces of Rwanda. UNICEF says that 400 million children, nearly one in six children globally, are exposed to cyclones while 330 million children, one in seven children globally, are exposed to riverine flooding. It shows that 240 million children (one in 10 children globally) are exposed to coastal flooding. Faith Mzumara, a 13-year-old climate activist and child advocate from Malawi who was speaking during COP28 at Rwanda Pavilion, narrated the ordeal of how cyclones are affecting children in Malawi, making a case for the increased finance to the Loss and Damage Fund. For instance, in March 2023, in Malawi more than 490,000 primary and secondary school-aged children were unable to attend school due to the damage caused by ‘Cyclone Freddy’, Save the Children noted. “The leaders at COP28 should consider children in developing countries such as Africa. My country needs a lot of funding especially since it has been facing crises such as cyclones, including the recent one that affected 15 districts affected by floods,” Mzumara said, adding there is also a need for funding for education about climate change. Lycipriya Devi Kangujam, a 12-year-old climate activist from India who was speaking at the Rwanda pavilion said: “We are suffering from the climate crisis and we need a Loss and Damage Fund. We want climate justice and increased climate finance to the fund. We do not need a form of loan to developing countries but billions of grants from developed countries.” According to UNICEF, the climate crisis is a child rights crisis posing a major threat to children from vulnerable families in sectors of health, education, nutrition, and development. Children are more susceptible to diseases that will proliferate with climate change, such as malaria. With climate change, the incidence of malaria, tick-borne fever, and schistosomiasis are expected to increase in Rwanda, a report by UNICEF shows. It shows that 5.3 million children are exposed to one or more disease vectors and 87 per cent of children are at risk of malaria. This story was produced with assistance from MESHA and IDRC Eastern and Southern Africa Office for science journalists reporting on COP28.

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COP28: Youth call for urgent action on climate finance