Clean, safe and secure environments to support Early Childhood Development
Advocacy on ECD, Climate Change, Environmental Degradation to put young children at the heart of climate action
“The Sustainable Development Goals recognize that early childhood development can help drive the transformation we hope to achieve over the next 15 years.” - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon (2015)
Young children are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. ECD policies and programs are our most valuable tools to provide a cost-effective, comprehensive, immediate, and enduring path to achieving climate resilience and Sustainable Development while enhancing climate mitigation.
Climate change has an unequal burden on young children. Nearly 90% of the global health burden related to climate change is borne by children under five (Sheffield and Landrigan, 2011). More than 1.7 million premature deaths among children under five are caused by pollution and toxic substances annually (WHO, 2017). Young children are disproportionately affected across all nurturing care components as they are uniquely vulnerable to extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, storms, as well as indirect climate effects such as food and water insecurity, climate-sensitive vector-borne diseases (Lancet, 2022). They also face increased health risks from pollution exposure through the air, water, and chemicals.
Our work
Since 2019, ARNEC has been working on the intersection of ECD, climate change and environmental degradation in collaboration with partners with the Ha Noi Call to Action adopted at the ARNEC Conference in Vietnam and subsequent publication of the ARNEC Connections 2020. Building on these efforts, ARNEC launched an initiative to strengthen knowledge, evidence, policies, and strategies to support clean, safe, and sustainable environments for young children and created a regional alliance with Save the Children and UNICEF EAPRO to help galvanize this work.
We have been leveraging our network to connect country-level, regional, and global partners to support this agenda at various platforms, such as webinars, national/regional and global calls to action and social media in the lead up to key global events, e.g., COP27, World Health Day, and the UNGA. ARNEC has facilitated a global scoping study to articulate the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on young children's development with recommendations for an ECD-focused approach to climate actions and environmental protection.
See all our key resources on ECD-Climate below:
- Most vulnerable to most valuable: A scoping study to put young children at the heart of climate actions and environmental protection (A scoping study by the Early Start at University of Wollongong in partnership with ARNEC, Save the Children, UNICEF EAPRO, Bernard van Leer Foundation)
- ECD-Climate Advocacy Video
- ARNEC Connections 2020: Ensuring the well-being of young children amidst environmental risks in the Asia-Pacific region
- ARNEC 2022 regional conference on ECD, COVID-19, climate change and environmental degradation documentation:
- ARNEC conference closing video
- Intergenerational panel: Risk and opportunity of integrating ECD into climate change policies.
- Community-based initiatives on addressing environmental issues as these affect young children
- Day2: Remarks from the Ministers of Bhutan and Fiji
- Day3: Remarks from the Ministers of Bhutan and Marshall Islands
- ARNEC Conference Day 2: Changing Sea Levels_ Professor Benjamin Hortons
- ARNEC Conference 2022: Setyaki Kusumadireja
- Webinar series in 2022 and 2023:
- Putting Young Children at the Center of Environmental and Climate Change Actions
- Demystifying Climate Change and its Relationship with Early Childhood Development
- Global Webinar Series, Webinar 1: Early Childhood Development as a Tool for Building Climate Change Resilience, Adaptation and Mitigation – Experiences from Asia Pacific and Africa (ECDAN, and RN collaboration with ARNEC leading)
- Launch of the Scoping study ‘ From most vulnerable to most valuable: A scoping study to put young children at the heart of climate actions and environmental protection’
- 2023 19 April webinar on Earth Day and Early Childhood
- 2023 7 September From Pollution to Solution: Clean Air for Young Children in Asia Pacific | Arnec
- Video message from ARNEC – what is next after COP26?
- Calls to action: Asia-Pacific regional call to action to address the climate crisis to protect the wellbeing and development of young children and the Global Call to Action
- Statements: COP 26 Results Statement, IPCC reaction statements and way forward
- Joint statement by ARNEC and its partners in Pakistan - Protect the young children in Pakistan from the impact of massive flooding
NEWS & RESOURCES
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child publishes General Comment No. 26
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has just published General Comment No.
Framework for Action: Young Children and Climate Change
This 2-pager highlights the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on young children across nurturing care components in the Asia Pacific context.
The Straits Times’ OpEd on 24 June – Tiny Lungs, Hefty Price
Our most vulnerable are also our most valuable.
UNICEF shares resources on young children facing multiple crises
The UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office has released two resources on young children, particularly supporting early learning and development beyond the pandemic and addressing environmental shocks and hazards that worsen inequality among children.