Children and Climate Finance: A Matter of Intergenerational Trust

Under 1.5°C of global warming by the year 2100, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data, children who were ten years old or younger in 2020 will, over their lifetimes, encounter extreme weather events at a rate four times higher than previous generations. Even so, research reveals that only 2.4% of climate finance over the past 17 years has supported child-responsive projects. But why should the nexus of children and climate finance matter?

The definitions of “child” and “youth” vary across organizations and cultures. While the UN sets a general framework, defining a child as under 18 and youth between 15 and 24, it acknowledges the fluidity of these terms. YOUNGO adopts a broader definition of youth (up to age 35) to ensure inclusive and effective youth participation in global climate action, reflecting diverse socio-economic contexts worldwide.

Right now, climate finance is taking center stage at COP29 (in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11–22 November 2024) with the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG) having a pressing role; given that under the Paris Agreement, nations must agree on a new collective financial goal before 2025. The ad-hoc work programme on the NCQG commenced at the beginning of 2022 and  is due to conclude this year. Amidst the ongoing negotiations, the integration of children’s perspectives is sadly underexplored.

The expert dialogue on children and climate change in the 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60)  had 62 inputs, which included University of Leeds contributions.  This marked a historic milestone, being the first time in the UNFCCC’s 30-year history that the unique and increased vulnerabilities of children were considered. The Informal summary report of the expert dialogue on children and climate change mentioned NCQG only once, when Henrik Hallgrim Eriksen, the Norwegian representative, emphasized Norway’s commitment to integrating children’s rights within the NCQG  on climate finance framework, along with the need for these rights to be considered in all relevant negotiations.

When Baku highlights ‘solidarity’ for a green world, it’s essential to recognize how children and youth are driving climate agendas through law and politics. Their role in “greening” international law through their agency in climate litigation, influence of activism on negotiations, and socio-political movements are accelerating global climate efforts. Solidarity will be an empty term without children.

What is NCQG and why should it integrate perspective on and from children?

The NCQG is a financial target under negotiation, aimed at supporting developing countries in their climate actions. In 2009 at COP15 in Copenhagen, according to Paragraph 8 of Copenhagen Accord, developed nations pledged to provide $100 billion annually by 2020. The goal was formalised at COP16 in Cancun, and at COP21 in Paris it was reiterated as NCQG and extended to 2025. Some reports claim that this target was met in 2022, however, some state that it hasn’t been met even by the end of 2023. This delay in meeting the commitment eroded the trust between developing and developed countries, with further critique on accessibility and quality of the funds. COP29 will be decisive in rebuilding this trust. Trust is key, but along with trust, aligning NCQG and climate finance for children strengthens hope and paves the way for the well-being of children and future generations.

COP29 provides the opportunity to rebuild the trust lost over the last 15 years, since COP15, with clear, proper and noble commitments to increase the funding at the local, national, or transnational levels, sourced from public, private, and alternative financial mechanisms, aims to support efforts in mitigation and adaptation to address the impacts of climate change.

Ways Forward:

Trust is not just between nations, it’s between generations too.

Incorporating the perspectives of and from children, youth and the future generations in building pathways for climate finance is important. Moreover, mainstreaming human rights in decisions for climate finance—guarantees access and strengthens climate actions for now and beyond.

Three recommendations can be prioritised with respect to (1) decision-making (2) allocation, and (3) accountability:

1. Inclusion in Decision Making Processes: Climate finance need to incorporate explicit references to children and young people, facilitating a rights-based, inclusive, holistic and multi-sectoral approach (where their vulnerability to different socio-economic and cultural realities such as…. are understood; and their agency for climate action is empowered). Further, I would like to see embedding of the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into climate finance frameworks, ensuring all funded projects uphold and promote children’s rights.
2. Allocate Funds to Child-Centric Climate Projects: When only 4% of climate finance over the past 17 years has supported child-responsive projects, it opens the question as to whether prioritizing and earmarking funding for projects that specifically address the vulnerabilities of children to climate change, such as education on climate resilience and adaptation strategies, are being considered.
3. Implement Monitoring and Accountability Mechanisms: Child-centric policies, and integration of child-sensitive perspectives in the allocation and access of climate finance, will require the development of indicators and tracking systems to assess the impact of climate finance on children’s well-being, ensuring transparency and accountability in fund utilisation.

I believe that these three recommendations are only but a starting point for more ambitious measures of integration of child-centric perspectives in climate finance.  What we do today matters forever—and money matters! Children and their agency in climate finance matter!

Written by Susan Ann Samuel, PhD Researcher, School of Politics and International Studies.

Featured image: “Young people learn how to build a community center” by UNAMID Photo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. 15 August 2012. El Fasher: Narima Abdala Mohammed carries bricks for the construction of a community center in Althoura Shemal in El Fasher, North Darfur, as part of a Community Based-Labour Intensive Project (CLIP) sponsored by UNAMID DDR (Disarmament Demobilization Reintegration). During three months, UNAMID provides training to 80 young people (60 men and 20 women) to construct this building. Photo by Albert González Farran – UNAMID