About Us

Children in a Changing Climate brings together leading child-focused research, development and humanitarian organisations, each with a commitment to share knowledge, co-ordinate their actions and to work with children as agents of change. We are committed to effective protection and meaningful participation of children and young people in our changing climate.

The Children in a Changing Climate coalition has its foundations in an action research project which studied children as communicators of risk in El Salvador and the Philippines.

The Coalition was conceived at the 13th Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali in 2007 (COP13), and officially launched at climate change talks in Bonn the following year. Our original mandate was to ensure that children’s rights to protection and participation were respected in global negotiations at COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009.

We have gone from strength to strength and continue to host events and disseminate research, through film, print and online media, highlighting the importance of child-centred disaster risk reduction and climate change prevention and adaptation.

Acknowledging Children's Rights
Increasingly children’s rights are being acknowledged by key stakeholders, including World Leaders, and UN agencies in discussions on climate change and adaptation. However we continue to call for the inclusion of children and children’s rights, in all decision-making and action on climate change and disaster risk reduction, at every level; from their families and communities to global climate change negotiations.

The coalition is guided by two principles:

1. Urgent attention, support and action is needed to address the issues faced by children worldwide as a result of increasing climate shocks and stresses.
2. Children are effective and important agents of change. Opportunities for their learning, action and influence on climate change policy, planning and action should be maximised.

Our work is grounded in the common understanding that children in developing countries have contributed least to the causes of climate change but are and will continue to be the worst affected by it. Globally, children are being affected by climate shocks, particularly in drought, flood and cyclone-prone rural areas and urban slums,

• The prospects of increasing poverty, hunger, diseases and reduced access to education mean that children's futures are more uncertain than ever before
• Children's experiences of climate change and disasters are different to those of adults, yet this is rarely considered
• Children are effective communicators of risks and drivers of change in their communities,
• Children's participation in climate change adaptation debates are limited and children's rights to adaptation assistance are poorly understood
• Investment in children's education specifically how to adapt to climate change is an important investment for future generations
• Children's unique experiences of climate change impacts and their specific insights and priorities need to be recognised in both climate change adaptation and mitigation policy and practice