This article highlights the findings of the report Young Children in Cities’ Climate Action Plans, which examines plans from the 12 cities projected to have the largest populations by 2100.
Climate change is a critical global issue that severely impacts child development. At the same time, urbanization continues to increase human exposure and intensify the impacts of climate-related disasters. As urban populations grow, these challenges will worsen, especially for children . Even if emission reduction targets are achieved, some climate impacts will be unavoidable by the end of the century.
Currently, 2.2 billion children face multiple overlapping climate and environmental threats, such as heat waves, cyclones, flooding, water scarcity, vector-borne diseases, air pollution, and lead contamination, all hindering their development and well-being. While efforts such as the Nurturing Care Framework have aimed to reduce these risks and build children’s resilience, far less attention has been paid to the urban context, despite the mounting population and environmental pressures cities face.
The report Young Children in Cities’ Climate Action Plans assesses how the 12 cities projected to have the largest populations by 2100 are planning for the needs of children. The cities are Addis Ababa, Bengaluru, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Jakarta, Lagos, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, New York, and Tokyo.
The report considers children aged 0 to 17 but emphasizes those in the early childhood development stage of 0 to 8. It examines water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), early environmental and climate change education, food security, nutrition, and healthy early childhood development (ECD).
Key findings
Among the twelve cities studied in this report
- Only Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro included WASH planning for children.
- Only Dakar, Lagos, Mumbai, New York, and Tokyo included environmental and climate change education in their plans.
- None of the 12 cities consider children’s concerns related to food security, nutrition, or healthy living.
- Only Dakar, Lagos, Mumbai, and New York factored in the differences in opportunities and vulnerabilities among children and how to bridge the gaps for building resilience.
- None of the cities’ plans included input from children or their caregivers about their concerns.
Recommendations
To support young children’s well-being and healthy development, this report recommends the following:
- City authorities should develop new plans, or review existing ones, to accommodate children’s needs for WASH, environmental and climate change education, nutrition, and food security.
- To better meet the needs of children, cities should tailor their plans to the varying needs of children as they age. For children ages zero to three, plans should emphasize developing stroller-friendly areas and accessible public spaces that guarantee safe play, access to healthcare, and other essential ECD services. Safe routes for bicyclists and play-based education and exploration opportunities should be a priority for ages three to five. Planning for children ages 6-8 should incorporate environmental education and climate change management into school curricula to encourage students to participate in hands-on projects.
- Throughout the planning process, city authorities should collaborate with ECD professionals, to draw on their child-sensitive expertise.
- Future plans should use an intersectional lens and include children and their caregivers in child welfare research, policy, and city planning processes.
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The full report and more about the knowledge fellowship project are available at ECDAN.
Bashiru Turay is a Knowledge Fellow at ECDAN, the Early Childhood Development Network. He researched and wrote the report Young Children in Cities’ Climate Action Plans under the mentorship of Capita’s CEO, Joe Waters.