Small Voices, Big Stakes: Why children’s environmental health must be at the heart of global policies

Throughout the world, children are experiencing the consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, often with life-altering consequences. The global climate crisis and widespread environmental degradation are no longer distant threats—they are clear and present dangers to the health and future of millions of children. In deadly confluence, rising temperatures and extreme weather, alongside toxic chemicals in our air, water, and soil, are undermining their most basic rights: their right to live, to grow up healthy, and to inherit a sustainable world. Examples of this reality are all around us. Read this commentary on why children's environmental health must be at the heart of global policies, authored by Kitty van der Heijden, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships at UNICEF; Abheet Solomon, Senior Adviser for Environment at UNICEF New York; and Caroline den Dulk, UNICEF's Senior Advisor on Advocacy and Partnerships, with a focus on climate change and children.