Juliet Jacob Ochenje
The director of Advocacy, Campaigns, Media and Communication for Save the Children International (SCI), Nigeria, Amanuel Teferi Mamo, has declared climate crisis as the biggest challenge of the contemporary world and a grave threat to children and their rights.
He, therefore, called on stakeholders to take urgent action on climate change before it is too late.
Mamo made this known on Thursday during the COP28 simulation event on climate change tagged ‘Children climate ambassadors forum’ in Abuja.
He said, “Children are more susceptible to the harmful effects of climate crisis owing to their psychological vulnerabilities.
“Children have contributed the least to the climate crisis, and yet we know that they are paying the highest price.”
He went further to note that, “according to experts in the area, the earth is now one degree centigrade warmer than the pre industrial period, with evidence of high and increasing negative impacts on human lives.
“As a result, in the coming years, droughts are expected to intensify, rainfall variability is projected to increase, extreme weather events will persist, new human and livestock diseases are projected to increase, new conflicts over decreasing resources will increase, and more people will be displaced by the rising oceans, floods, wildfires, droughts, expanding deserts, and the likes.
Mamo added, “The first thing we should do is develop responsible behaviour to protect the environment.
“We should be cautious and deliberate in terms of how we minimise polluting the environment the use of environmentally unfriendly materials, plastics.
“Children’s rights might not even survive a global climate catastrophe.
“Therefore, we need to increase investment in the climate crisis. The Ministry of Environment and all other ministries, agencies, and departments, I think, should deliberately increase the cost or budget for the environment.”
