JUAN FELIPEZ JIMENEZ'S REFLECTION- BEYOND THE BUZZWORD: OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHILDREN

July 25, 2019

JUAN FELIPEZ JIMENEZ'S REFLECTION- BEYOND THE BUZZWORD: OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND CHILDREN

Written By Juan Felipez Jimemez UNICEF PERU

Last week a friend asked me – what is the best way to solve climate change? – after the last 5 months working on increasing environmental sustainability at UNICEF Peru, I have embraced a potential approach to climate action that might just offer an answer to address the broad scale of the question itself. The common perception about climate change is that weather patterns are volatile causing extreme events that are most visible to us nowadays in the form of recurring heat waves, videos of falling glaciers, forest fires - events that might not affect us directly and that we seem able to manage.

Climate change awareness

However, the indirect and long-term effects of this phenomenon have been dismissed or disregarded from popular awareness. The scale of its impact affects society in multiple ways; health, nutrition, education, gender, social inclusion, are all influenced by climate change. While it might be a broad topic indeed, it seems to have become a buzzword; we hear about it on the news, but I doubt people know the many dimensions it comprises.

Where do our material things come from? Where do they end up? I feel these are questions we disregard in our role as consumers considering products are advertised to appeal to our desires, not our conscience. Of course, our choice is determined by what is available to us, reputed, and financially accessible as well. ‘Is it a brand, a promotion, the newest model?’ I have heard – is what people care about, not its impact on the environment. Different priorities, misconceptions and ignorance, in my opinion, contribute to this cycle of hasty consumption which arises from a lack of spaces to discuss the issue. And I say this because it was my experience; doing usual stuff not realizing the impact – or knowing the impact and not knowing what to do.

Climate action and children’s future

Many of the national commitments keep talking about the scale of the impact under a Business as Usual panorama^{^[1]} which lacks ambition considering it implies compromising the livelihoods of a portion of the world population. A population that will likely be made out of vulnerable individuals in situations of inequality without the capacity to adapt or confront the consequences it brings including; children, women, farmers, and populations in segregated areas.

Thanks to UNA-Canada’s International Development and Diplomacy Internship Programme, during the past five months I have had the opportunity to learn about UNICEF’s work and the Peruvian context; also understanding the relevance of protecting and enabling children’s environments has in development. Given their dependence and sensitivity (biological and psychological) to environments, children are considered the most vulnerable population to the effects of climate change^{^[2]}.

Considering the influence of man-made activities in the scale of this phenomenon, joint to the limited response, and even disregard on the implications a changing climate has on a global scale result in the violation of the rights of the child; these factors have an impact on the challenges and opportunities they will have as they grow - posing a pertinent issue in terms of intergenerational justice.

UNICEF advocates for an approach to climate action that focuses on the rights of children. This in consideration of the wide consensus and commitment from nations for the wellbeing of children under the Convention on the Rights of the Child^{^[3]}, the consequences in terms of intergenerational justice, and promoting measures that contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of these effects, offering a crucial approach that should be prioritized in the talks for climate action.

Increasing Environmental Sustainability in Peru.

I had the opportunity to develop a Regional Meeting of Young Students for Climate Action in Loreto^{^[4]}, a Peruvian department in the Amazon. Joint with the Regional Education Directorate, and working closely with the Regional Environmental Authority, and civil society we developed a space meant to raise awareness of how climate change affects the region and the exercise of children rights. share challenges and solutions being implemented, and making regional authorities hear the participants’ declarations and suggestions to include their perspectives in policy-making. A two-day event that brought together over 100 students from urban and rural schools in the province, 40 teachers, and 15 regional authorities, to discuss these issues and make commitments.

Over the two-day event, the participants discussed; I) climate change as a concept; considering a different perspective to the usual fatalistic views and rather touching on turning the expected changes into opportunities for adaptation, II) the role of adolescents in climate action - raising awareness on how they are most affected but also noting their potential as agents of change through education and advocacy, influencing policy making and their very surroundings; just as they represent future business leaders, decision makers and consumers. And iii) the different experiences and initiatives lead by adolescents throughout the region for the conservation of the environment and climate advocacy.

What is the best way to solve climate change? (a first step)

While the climate topic was relatively new for some, it was fascinating to listen to the students’ awareness of their land, their inheritance of indigenous knowledge, and the authentic concern they had at such a young age. Their expressed declarations touched on how they witness the hardships their families and communities had to cope with due to a volatile environment, a lacking infrastructure and limited access to basic services, and an economy where most of the easily accessible opportunities (with alluring salaries) come from informal, illegal, or unsustainable industries (i.e. mining, logging, and even prostitution). Big critical statements that were presented to the attending authorities in demand of a better future. As a spectator, I was shocked not only by how engaged they were in this matter, but by the structured and rational demands they made.

Making the voices of youth be heard in this space, contributed to raising awareness on the impact of climate change in development. Making youth participants of these spaces draws on their misrepresented considerations. They are crucial agents of change that have much to contribute in the measures taken for policy-making given their capacity to be sensitive, neutral, and open.

Back to my friend’s question – I believe the first step to ‘solve’ climate change is realizing the multidimensional nature it comprises; globally. It is easy to disregard what we do not see.