Poorest children worst hit by global warming

A new report by UNICEF UK outlines how the poorest and most vulnerable children in the world are the most likely to be adversely affected by climate change.

‘Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility’ has been published on the ten year anniversary of the UK government signing the Kyoto Protocol.

It calls upon the UK government to take immediate action against climate change, and to make children worldwide its first priority.

According to the report, children in the developing world, especially in Asia and Africa, are facing rising levels of disease and violence as food and clean water become increasingly scarce.

This causes around 160,000 extra deaths every year.

Furthermore, climate change represents a serious threat to the achievement of the UN’s Millenium Development Goals on poverty, disease, health, and education.

If temperatures increase just 2 degrees celcius, up to 200 million extra people are likely to be at risk of hunger.

As well as saying that the UK government needs to do a lot more to combat climate change, the report calls upon rich nations worldwide to provide money for countries who need immediate help.