In response to the IPCC report that was launched today, Save the Children has released the following statement.
Paul Mitchell, Principal Climate Change Advisor, Save the Children said:
“Today’s report really should shock everyone, and particularly the Australian Government. If this damning indictment isn’t the catalyst for a fundamental shift in Australia, I truly dread to think what it might take.
“Australian children, just like millions around the world, are already living with the consequences of too little action over too many years. Children are already suffering the shocking impacts – bushfires, floods, drought - of the climate crisis.
“The IPCC report outlines the climate change and extreme events - heatwaves, bushfires, cyclones and floods – are now happening at a regional level and likely to be more frequent and more intense.
“Our entire Pacific region understands what these regional, extreme events look like and how they disrupt education, destroy schools and homes and cost lives.
“This is not theoretical for children; climate change is a real and present threat to their lives right now. Today. It’s also stealing their futures and their right to a liveable planet.”
School Strike 4 Climate campaigner, Eva Rodgers, 17, said:
“We need climate action, and we need it now. That is the message young people and marginalised voices at the front line of the climate crisis have been preaching for many years,” Ms Rodgers said.
“Now, the IPCC report has clarified the detrimental climate position the world is currently in, and the crucial need for action. We need this report to be heard, understood and recognised by politicians and people in power with the sense of urgency it desperately deserves.
“We can no longer censor the voices of lead scientists, and if we do, we will continue to see the climate emergency we all fear play out. As outlined by the IPCC, governments across the world simply aren’t doing enough. Instead, their climate INACTION is only further damaging the earth, and contributing to the climate crisis.
“If this report isn’t the wakeup call we need for urgent climate action, I don’t know what is.”
Yolande Wright, Global Director Child Poverty, Climate and Urban, said:
“Today’s report is a harrowing warning of what is to come, but millions of children across the globe are already experiencing irreversible impacts on their lives and life chances. They go hungry or die in droughts, cyclones and floods, they flee their homes to escape wildfires. Some 5.7 million children under five are already on the brink of starvation in this year’s unprecedented food crisis – in which the climate crisis is a major factor.”
“Children born today will experience the devastating impacts of the climate crisis far worse than their parents or grandparents - that makes this a children’s crisis at its core.”
“Children in lower–income communities will be hardest hit as the crisis - like COVID-19 - exacerbates inequalities within and between countries. But the scorching heatwaves in North America, the widespread wildfires and the recent floods in Europe have shown that no place is safe.”
“Humanity has the capacity and resources to tackle this crisis, but we must be determined to act, as the window to limit global warming to 1.5° is closing. We need to drastically cut emissions, but every action to limit warming brings us closer to protecting the lives of children now and in the future.”
“Children need to be involved in these policies and decisions on climate change. It’s their future that is at stake, so they must play a key role in shaping it. We also urgently need more resources to help vulnerable communities prepare for crises. Governments need to set up structural financial support for the most vulnerable communities.”
ENDS