A/HRC/35/13
transparency framework, in intended nationally determined contributions and other
communications and in the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss
and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts and its taskforce on
displacement, in order to promote accountability and more effective climate policies;
(c)
Ensuring that climate adaptation policies improve disaster risk
preparedness and enhance the adaptation capacities of all children, taking into
account the needs and vulnerabilities of those most at risk. Gender considerations, for
example, should be accounted for in climate change and disaster risk management
policies, projects and planning processes.
59.
Human rights mechanisms, including the Committee on the Rights of the Child,
should consider ways to hold States accountable for their climate commitments, to
better document the impacts of climate change and to promote rights-based climate
action. As recommended during the day of general discussion on children’s rights and
the environment held by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the issue of the
environment could be routinely integrated in concluding observations. Civil society
inputs to the Committee review process should address climate change and its impacts
on children’s rights and draw attention to the adequacy of States’ individual
contributions to efforts to limit climate change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as
well as the impacts of climate actions. Similarly, States should use the universal
periodic review mechanism of the Human Rights Council to promote accountability
for climate and human rights commitments.
2.
Empower children to participate in climate policymaking
60.
All children, without discrimination, should be prepared for and included in
climate decision-making in order to ensure that their best interests are protected.
Children’s involvement in the design and implementation of climate policies and
climate vulnerability assessments should be facilitated according to their age and
maturity. 79 Consultative mechanisms, improved dissemination of information and
other strategies to engage children are needed for their meaningful participation.
States should facilitate the participation of children in ongoing processes related to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that are likely to affect
their development and survival.
61.
Climate change education can empower educators, parents and children as
agents of change. Educational curricula should transfer knowledge and develop skills
that will equip children to confront climate-related challenges taking into account
each child’s particular local context and, as appropriate, traditional knowledge.
Climate education should, inter alia:
(a)
Raise awareness about appropriate lifestyle choices for sustainable
development, such as low-carbon transportation, energy and consumption
behaviours;80
(b)
Emphasize solidarity, promote cooperation with children from other
countries and create opportunities for children’s participation in environmental
decision-making;81
(c)
Include access to up-to-date, meaningful and age-appropriate
information about the causes of climate change, its impacts and adaptive responses,
including disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness.
79
80
81
16
For example, the inclusion of girls as participants in the design, planning and implementation of
climate strategies will lead to more effective policy formation. See, for example, United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and Mary Robinson
Foundation — Climate Justice, The Full View: Ensuring a Comprehensive Approach to Achieve the
Goal of Gender Balance in the UNFCCC Process, 2nd ed. (2016), available at www.mrfcj.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/11/MRFCJ-Full-View-Second-Edition.pdf.
See, for example, target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
See, for example, Committee on the Rights of the Child, general comment No. 1, paras. 9 and 13.
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents