Climate & Environment Programme Specialist, UNICEF Malaysia

AWANI

Across ASEAN, 213 million youths are growing up in a region shaped by climate change. In Langkawi, UNICEF gathers over 100 youth delegates for the ASEAN Children & Youth Climate Summit to share their experiences and push for stronger action.

Transcript

00:00Across ASEAN, 213 million youths, nearly a third of the population, are growing up in a region increasingly shaped by climate change.

00:09Now this week, UNICEF is bringing together more than 100 youth delegates for the ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Summit

00:16to share their experiences and call for stronger action.

00:19Reporting from Langkawi, here's our correspondent, Farhana Sheh, with more.

00:23I am here in Langkawi for the UNICEF's ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Summit,

00:30happening from the 2nd to 4th September, held in parallel with the 18th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Environment.

00:36Now, over 100 delegates are here from across ASEAN to share their experiences on climate-related disasters,

00:43showcase their grassroots innovations, as well as chart the way forward for regional climate action.

00:48Day one saw back-to-back panel discussions, interactive sessions, as well as a live recorded podcast

00:54on the rights of children to a healthy environment, as well as the role of youth leadership in driving solutions.

01:01Now to talk more about the summit is Robert Gass, UNICEF representative to Malaysia,

01:05as well as special representative to Brunei Darussalam.

01:10And UNICEF is really honoured to be able to be co-hosting this with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability.

01:16This is a really important event that is happening.

01:20It's really the very first time that children's and youth engagement is being formalized into the policy-setting agenda.

01:28And so this is going to be an opportunity to shape policies.

01:32We have children and young people that are here representing all of the ASEAN member states,

01:37and we'll be contributing to the development of a declaration that will influence policy-making,

01:42not just for specific countries, but basically for the region as a whole.

01:45We know that the climate crisis is a child rights crisis.

01:50It is a crisis that impacts every aspect of a child's life.

01:53From their health, we know that 90% of the disease burden that is a result of climate change

02:00and environmental degradation is borne by young people.

02:02We know that when schools close, the young people are most affected.

02:06We know that it also contributes to malnutrition, which has a very significant impact on under-5 mortality as well.

02:11So by children bringing in their real, lived experiences, presenting those at the all-ministerial meeting for environment,

02:20is an opportunity to shape the agenda.

02:22And Malaysia has been a leader in this respect by being the first country to actually formalize youth participation

02:28and youth engagement in the overall policy dialogue.

02:31So how it will impact is by informing ministers of issues that are important to young people,

02:37translating that into policies in their own countries,

02:40and by using the framework of ASEAN as a whole to be able to influence child rights in the region as a whole.

02:46That was Robert Gass on the overview of the summit.

02:50I also caught up with Nasha Lee, Climate and Environment Programme Specialist from UNICEF Malaysia,

02:56who shared why climate change is fundamentally a child's right issue,

03:00and also discussed the challenges that children and youth face in making their voices heard by policymakers.

03:06So according to UNICEF statistics in the ASEAN region, 41% of children face more than five climate and environmental shocks,

03:19and this is, you know, three times more than the global average.

03:23So we're really seeing that, you know, climate change is a child rights crisis

03:27because it exacerbates children's rights to education, to health, to nutrition,

03:35and basically their rights to have, you know, a future,

03:39their rights to have a potential for opportunities and for growth.

03:42The biggest challenge that children and young people face is that they are often heard in this kind of settings,

03:49but their recommendations don't directly inform decisions or key policies within this space.

03:57So very often children and young people are there as part of, you know, an obligation

04:03or kind of like a tick-boxing exercise, but we really want to move it from participation to influence,

04:11where children and young people have a direct say in the decisions that matter to them,

04:16whether or not they'll have a future in the years to come,

04:19whether or not they'll have access to clean air, clean water,

04:22whether or not they'll have an environment that, you know,

04:25basically can fuel their growth and their survival in the future.

04:31And that's something that's really important.

04:34Now, as mentioned, a key outcome of the summit is the ASEAN Children and Youth Climate Declaration

04:40to be presented directly to the ministers by the youth representative at the AMME.

04:44So stay tuned for that and more exclusive coverage only on Esther Awani.

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