Involve Children in Climate Policy Formulation

In addition, climate change also causes food insecurity due to drought or floods. These increasingly frequent and prolonged disasters also contribute to poverty and encourage an increase in child marriage and child marriage rates. This was proven in West Lombok Regency which experienced drought, which increased the prevalence of tengkes to 34 percent.

Also read: Climate Crisis Takes Away Children's Rights

"Until now, we have always talked about the economic or environmental impacts of climate change, with very few looking at the impact of climate change from the perspective of children," said Woro at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, Jakarta, on Thursday (25/4/2024).

Climate change, which causes poverty, also means that many children have to work to help support their family's economy, resulting in their children's right to education being taken away. In fact, 10 children's rights have been guaranteed in Presidential Decree Number 36 of 1990 as a derivative of the 1989 United Nations children's rights convention.

Meanwhile, the Climate Risk Index for Children by UNICEF in 2021 placed Indonesia at rank 46 out of 195 countries with a very high severity level of 8.1 in terms of climate and environmental factors, with a childhood vulnerability rating of 4.2 (moderate), and a children's climate risk index of 6.5 (high). Children always bear a double burden as they grow up in threatening situations that make them more physically, socially, and economically vulnerable.

In a preliminary study conducted by Save The Children in 10 villages in Bandung Regency, West Java, in 2023, it was shown that children's knowledge and attitudes towards climate change information are actually good, above 75 percent. However, the behavior of mitigating and adapting to climate change is still low, at 41.8 percent.

"So, they are aware that littering can cause floods and their attitude is to declare that they don't want to litter carelessly, but in practice, we can see that many channels are still flooded with litter," said Interim Chief of ACCM (Advocacy, Campaign, Communication, and Media), Save The Children, Tata Sudrajat.

The direct impact of climate change on health, education, welfare and child protection is already happening.

She explained that this is due to the low involvement of children and young people in programs and policies related to climate change. Globally, only 2 percent of children are involved in formulating their country's climate commitment and action documents (NDC) before presenting them to the world at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) forum.

Another example that makes children victims of climate change is the high number of cases of human trafficking in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara. This is caused by parents in these two provinces becoming impoverished due to limited resources, including water and food, disrupted livelihoods, and illnesses that burden the care of children and pose risks to their growth and development.

Therefore, the younger generation is encouraged to continue to participate in every climate action and actively advocate for their rights at the policy level. The government should also be committed to listening to children's voices by creating various policies and programs that integrate health, education, and child protection aspects into climate adaptation policies and programs.

"This is a fact that the direct impacts of climate change on health, education, welfare, and child protection have already occurred. This needs to be further explored," he said.

Also read: Climate Change Threatens Girls' Education

Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Save the Children Indonesia, Dessy Kurwiany Ukar, added that children's resilience towards climate change must be built to ensure their safety from various risks. In addition to continuing their studies, her team will also continue to campaign for a climate generation in eight cities, namely Banda Aceh, Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali, Samarinda, Palu, and Makassar from July to November.

The younger generation will be encouraged to take action on climate change and formulate a number of distinctive climate policy recommendations in their respective regions. As local residents, they are believed to be able to directly understand the best policies for their region in mitigating climate change.

"This is to increase awareness and take initial action so that we can work together to ensure the rights of children who are now vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis," said Dessy.

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