“With the worst climate impacts children are facing from extreme weather events, we want to ensure the new global climate finance target addresses the needs of the most vulnerable children. With just 2.4% of climate resources mobilized to support activities that directly benefit children by four Multilateral Climate Funds, we call for funding for mitigation, adaptation and response to loss and damage to address the specific risks of children faced with climate change and support them as agents of change” declared Daniela Fatarella, General Director of Save the Children Italy at COP29underway in Baku, on the occasion of the event “From politics to practice: child-friendly climate finance” organized by Save the Children in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Youth Movement for Save the Children . “The voices of the youngest must be heard and integrated into the definition of climate policies and programmatic interventions. Furthermore, multi-stakeholder partnerships, based on innovative financial instruments and the involvement of local communities, are needed to increase climate finance and ensure that it meets the needs of the most affected populations, and in particular children. Only by integrating children’s rights into climate investments will we be able to ensure a clean, healthy and sustainable planet for present and future generations.”
“Italy with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security has chosen to play an active role, through the Youth4Climate initiative, in collaboration with the UNDP which since 2021 enhances the potential of young people as protagonists of the climate challenge. Youth4Climate offers a global platform, where young people can share their ideas and get the financial support needed to realize them. To date, 100 projects have been funded in over 50 vulnerable countries, for a total of $2.5 million. Topics covered range from renewable energy technologies in Africa, to reforestation programs in Latin America, to education campaigns in Southeast Asia. By supporting projects rooted in local communities, Italy is committed to making climate policies a concrete reality in every country, transforming young people into protagonists and innovators of global change” declared the Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security Claudio Barbaro at the opening of the event.
With the climate crisis, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, and have increased globally fivefold in the last 50 years. It is often children who suffer the worst consequences of these disasters: globally, an estimated 1.2 billion children live in an area at high risk of flooding, severe drought or other climate threats. Children are facing more extreme weather in an increasingly unequal world.
Between July 2023 and June 2024, a record 766 million children – a third of the global child population – were exposed to extreme heat waves around the world. Due to the drought, 12.2 million children in southern Africa require humanitarian assistance, while in the last three months floods have had a strong impact on the lives of children in Vietnam, Thailand, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sudan and West Africa.
“Italian cooperation on climate and development must give priority to children, those most affected by climate change, also through innovative initiatives involving donors, civil society and the private sector, such as those promoted by Save the Children. Multistakeholder partnerships, in the context of climate finance, can be a model of development and change” ha declared Stefano Gatti, Director General for Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The event was attended by: Daniela Fatarella, General Director of Save the Children Italy; Maria Chiara Lentinio, spokesperson for the Youth Movement for Save the Children; Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security; Antonella Baldino, Head of Business Promotion and Portfolio Management International Cooperation, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and Board Member of the Fund for Responding to Loss & Damage; Siama, Member of the Children’s Parliament and activist for children’s rights and climate in South Sudan, Save the Children; Stefano Gatti, Director General for Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Paul Ronalds, Managing Director of Save the Children Global Ventures; Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director General of Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT of CGIAR.
For information:
Save the Children Press Office
Tel. 3385791870 – 3389625274 – 3409367952 – 3316676827
ufficiostampa@savethechildren.org
www.savethechildren.it
