Exploring children's vulnerability to climate change and their role in advancing climate change adaptation in East Asia and the Pacific

This paper provides an overview of the climate change trends and their potential effects on children in East Asia and the Pacific that appeared in studies covering five countries that were commissioned by the United Nations Children's Fund. The purpose of the studies was to analyse children's specific vulnerabilities to climate change that need to be taken into account in policy development. Scientific research indicates that existing vulnerabilities are likely to be exacerbated by continued climate change. Because children have unique perspectives of their environment, they can be important actors in enhancing community capacity to address climate-related risks. In the UNICEF research, children noted a range of experiences, ranging from livelihood insecurity in Mongolia to threats of sea level rising in the Pacific Islands to massive flooding of their neighbourhoods in the Philippines and crop failures in Indonesia. Involving children in the design of policy, and designing climate change policies with children's rights in mind, are essential to creating policies that do not have unintended negative consequences.