According to the UNICEF report, “The climate crisis is a child rights crisis” Over one billion children are at high risk from the impact of climate change. The number is alarming because it constitutes half of the children in the entire world…. reports Hasil Odungat
It hasn’t been long since London Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled a statue that now stands as both a tribute and a warning. The figure of a young girl named Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah faces Lewisham Hospital, where she was admitted numerous times before her tragic death from asthma in 2013. She would have been 21 this year. Ella is remembered not just as a bright, joyful child but as the first person in the UK to have air pollution officially listed as a cause of death. Her statue rises quietly amidst London’s bustling streets, asking a powerful, lingering question: What are we doing about climate change and how many more children must suffer before we act?
According to the UNICEF report, “The climate crisis is a child rights crisis.” Over one billion children are at high risk from the impact of climate change. The number is alarming because it constitutes half of the children in the entire world. The climate change crisis affects the necessities of healthy child growth. Education, proper nutrition, water and health care. Also, the threat isn’t physical; it’s deeply emotional, too. More and more young people are growing up with a pervasive sense of “climate anxiety”, a fear of an uncertain future and frustration at the lack of urgent action. The statue of Ella, gazing outward with quiet resilience, captures that complex emotional landscape, the innocence of youth standing in sharp contrast to the enormity of the crisis.
And the UK is no exception. A recent report by the University of Bristol’s National Child Mortality Database found that over 90% of the 54 children who died from asthma between 2019 and 2023 were exposed to air pollution levels that exceeded World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Even more troubling, 92% of these children were exposed to unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide at home and 95% at school, and yet, these exposure levels still fall within what is currently considered legal under UK law. The data reveals an unsettling truth: the children most affected were not just statistics but individuals whose lives were shaped by where they lived and who they were. The majority were boys, 18 were from ethnic minority backgrounds, and most lived in economically disadvantaged, inner-city areas. These aren’t isolated incidents; they form a pattern of environmental inequality that has persisted for too long. Just like Ella, these children were denied clean air, a basic human right, not because of personal choices but because of policy failures and systemic neglect. Their stories echo loudly from our playgrounds, our classrooms, and now from memorials, asking how many more lives it will take before the air we breathe becomes a national priority.
Building on the urgent call for action, major child health organisations are demanding serious change. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has made it clear that climate change is more than just an environmental problem; it’s a direct threat to children’s health. In their official statement, they highlight how climate change worsens health inequalities, especially for children from poorer families and ethnic minority communities.
RCPCH has outlined a series of policy recommendations aimed at the UK government. These include prioritising children’s health in all climate-related policies, reducing air pollution levels to meet WHO guidelines, and ensuring equitable access to green spaces. They also advocate for the appointment of a cabinet-level minister for children to ensure that young people’s health is central to national decision-making.
The rise of youth climate activism is a glimpse of hope. Young people worldwide are stepping up as leaders in the fight against climate change. According to a 2021 survey published in The Lancet, nearly 60% of young people said they felt very worried or extremely worried about climate change, with many saying it affects their daily lives. Instead of remaining silent, this generation is using fear as motivation by spearheading international campaigns like Fridays for Future, lobbying governments, and creating grassroots movements. Green reforms in education and law are being pushed for in the UK by organisations like Teach the Future and the UK Student Climate Network. Their message is that children shouldn’t have to battle for their future, a healthy world, or pure air, but they do. Today, the statue of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah serves as a focal point as well as a memorial. It serves as a reminder that lives lost are the price of inactivity, and young people will not allow such tales to be forgotten. They are calling for justice in addition to remembering. Ella’s tale is a call to action for the future, not simply for the past. The increasing voices of families, doctors, campaigners, and children all stress the same point: a safe climate and clean air are basic rights. We must take immediate, compassionate, and just action if we genuinely wish to safeguard the future generation. As they observe, the children of climate change deserve better.
