Climate Change is unquestionably an ongoing threat to poverty reduction and subsequently  a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive. Extreme weather events such as cyclones threaten their lives and destroys infrastructure critical to their well-being. Floods compromise water and sanitation facilities, leading to diseases such as cholera to which children are particularly vulnerable. Further, Climate Change has resulted in floods, prolonged draught leading to famine and hunger, prevalence of some diseases, accelerated desertification, forest fires, crop failures and other such natural phenomena affecting people, their livelihoods and wellbeing. Compounded with other strains on resources, these environmental disasters have a devastating effect on poor populations. 

Often, children bear the indirect brunt of climate injustice particularly those already living in poverty. For instance, children are forced to migrate, with or without adults, to escape the natural disasters as a result of Climate Change, or in search of economic opportunities. Recent analyses by the world bank estimates that Climate Change will drive 68 million to 135 million into poverty by 2030. Similarly, the International Fund for Agricultural Development estimates that climate change could push 132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030.

We believe that the collective fight against the climate crisis will greatly contribute to the fight against child poverty. Our Right to Climate Justice Programme supports partners to enable their communities to increase their climate resilience and develop climate change actions.

Our approach includes:

• Supporting our faith-based partners to develop spiritual and theological frameworks or platforms for climate change action and climate justice.
• Strengthening our partners’ capacity to engage with national governments, regional and global entities, and the private sector to ensure that they can positively impact, policies and strategies.
• Supporting our partners to establish or join existing climate change platforms and climate action networks, to strengthen their advocacy interventions that are pro-children living in poverty.

During the commemoration of our 10^th anniversary, we carried out the Grow Trees With Children campaign as part of our contribution and commitment to environmental protection and climate action in general.