{"id":2914,"date":"2021-09-30T06:27:32","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T06:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/?p=2914"},"modified":"2021-09-30T06:47:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T06:47:31","slug":"fijis-children-will-suffer-through-almost-four-times-as-many-extreme-weather-events-save-the-children-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.savethechildren.org.fj\/fijis-children-will-suffer-through-almost-four-times-as-many-extreme-weather-events-save-the-children-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiji\u2019s children will suffer through almost four times as many extreme weather events: Save the Children report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Save the Children\u2019s climate modelling projects up to 10 times more extreme weather events for children in the Pacific<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched ahead of global climate talks in Glasgow, Save the Children\u2019s Born into The Climate Crisis report,<\/u><\/em> <\/em>reveals the devastating impact the climate crisis will have on Fijian children and their rights if nations do not work together to limit warming to 1.5C as a matter of the greatest urgency.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the report\u2019s modelling, a child born in 2020 in Fiji will suffer through nearly four times as many heatwaves, and more than double the amount of river floods during their lifetime, compared to the generation born in 1960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This major report is based on new modelling<\/a> led by researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel which reveals that globally and under Paris Agreement pledges, a child born in 2020 will experience on average: twice as many bushfires; almost three times as many crop failures; two and half times as many droughts; three times as many river floods; and seven times more heatwaves in their lifetime compared to elders born in the 60s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the flipside, the data shows enormous positive impacts for children if governments drastically accelerate their efforts to limit warming to 1.5\u00b0C. The lifetime exposure of newborns to heatwaves could be reduced by 45%, droughts by 39%, river floods by 38%, crop failures by 28%, and wildfires by 10%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current climate pledges will see warming of somewhere between 2.6 and 3.1\u00b0C, which will drive serious and more frequent weather events affecting billions, particularly children in low- and middle-income countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erin Ryan, report author and Save the Children\u2019s Pacific Policy and Advocacy Advisor said:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe picture this report is painting is a dark one. The life and prospects of a child born today look dramatically, irreversibly different to their parents and grandparents. They are poised to flee more fires, and face food shortages, floods and rolling, relentless heatwaves around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a child rights emergency of the highest order. The evidence can\u2019t be any clearer that if nations do not work together to put children at the centre of their climate strategies and take urgent action to limit warming to that crucial 1.5\u00b0C point, millions will be at risk of serious harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not a future problem. Ask the millions of Australian children who watched 17 million hectares of our country burn in 2020, or kids in the Pacific who have already lost their homes to catastrophic cyclones, and they will tell you: the climate emergency is already upon us. For babies born today, the outlook is even more frightening. We cannot continue on our current trajectory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Ryan concluded: \u201cIt is imperative that children are present at this critical juncture – not as inspiration, but as rights-holders, as the most acutely-affected, and as agents of urgent, necessary, and transformative change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Projected frequency of disasters for babies born in 2020 (based on Paris Agreement pledges commitments) *:<\/p>\n\n\n\n