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Children are not like little adults. Their bodies and minds are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as pollution, deadly diseases and extreme weather. Yet they have been either ignored or largely disregarded in the global climate change discourse and financing.

UNICEF’s 2021 landmark Children's Climate Risk Index (CCRI) report found that 1 billion children are at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis and examined eight components of climate and environmental shocks and stresses. This report builds on the CCRI and examines one of these components – water scarcity (the physical availability of water) along with water vulnerability (the combination of water scarcity and lack of access to drinking water service).

Key messages

• Elevate children within the final COP28 Cover Decision and convene an expert dialogue on children and climate change.
• Embed children and intergeneration equity in the Global Stocktake (GST).
• Include children and climate-resilient essential services within the final decision on the Global Goal for Adaptation (GGA).
• Make the Loss and Damage Fund and funding arrangements childresponsive with child rights embedded in the fund’s governance and decision-making process.