Burning fossil fuels is now the biggest threat to children's lives, including their education by Save the Children, UNICEF   21 Sep. 2026   The world spends more on fossil fuel subsidies every three days than the amount needed to support the education of nearly 750 million children over a five-year period, Save the Children said.   The analysis comes ahead of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Replenishment Summit this week at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, where world leaders are gathering. At the summit, GPE - which works with governments to strengthen education systems – will seek at least US$5 billion to support education across 96 countries.   Annually, governments worldwide spend about US$725 billion on direct fossil fuel subsidies - financial support that lower the cost of producing or consuming coal, oil, and natural gas. These measures come in the form of tax breaks, low-interest loans, and other policies that reduce the operating expenses of oil, gas, or coal industries.   It would take just two-and-a-half days in direct fossil fuel subsidies to reach the US$5 billion GPE is seeking to strengthen education systems for 750 million children – about one-third of all children globally - by 2030, Save the Children found.   Burning fossil fuels for heat, electricity, transportation, and manufacturing and construction is the single-largest contributor to the climate crisis, which is now the biggest threat to children's lives, including their education.   At least one in 10 students globally had their schooling disrupted due to climate-related hazards in 2025, according to the UN.   Last month in Nepal, a deadly flash flood, triggered by a partial glacier collapse due to warming permafrost, disrupted the education of thousands of students, including 13-year-old Roma, with dozens of schools damaged, destroyed or are being used as shelters.   Roma was at school when word spread that the river was rising. Her father rushed to the school to pick her up and together they headed to safety at a temporary holding centre. Within hours, the flood had swept away her family's home and belongings.   "Everything was taken by the flood," she said quietly. "But we all survived. That is the biggest thing. My school bag and books were buried in the flood. I had hoped to come first in the second term. Now I don't know what will happen. I don't even know whether exams will take place.”   Today, Roma, a Grade 8 student, is living in temporary accommodation with her parents, brother and two sisters while her family begins the long process of recovery.   While humanitarian assistance has helped meet some immediate needs, it is her education that she worries about most. “I miss school,” she said. “I miss studying and seeing my friends.”   As the climate crisis continues to increase the frequency and severity of these hazards, students will keep being affected directly through school disruptions - and indirectly through lost learning, reduced lifetime earnings, and widening education inequities.   Marian Hodgkin, Head of Education at Save the Children said:   “The world is currently grappling with an unprecedented learning crisis that urgently needs investment. World leaders have no problem spending public money to fund fossil fuel subsidies - investments which are fuelling the climate crisis and further deepening the global learning crisis. Yet, when it comes to funding aid and education responses, budgets are drying up.   “Every year, governments spend US$725 billion tipping the scales in favour of oil, gas and coal. Yet just US$5 billion over five years could help fund the education of nearly 750 million children whose learning is being disrupted by the climate crisis these same industries are fuelling. The money exists. It is a question of what we choose to invest in - the industries driving the climate crisis, or the children who will inherit it.”   Save the Children is calling on world leaders gathering in New York this week for the UNGA, to change course and reinvest in tackling the global learning crisis. This includes pledging at least US$5 billion to fund the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) replenishment, so governments can build stronger, more resilient education systems, so that every child can access their right to education even when disasters strike.   Save the Children is also calling on leaders to fund an additional US$600 million at the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) replenishment event in November, to help ensure 10 million of the world's most vulnerable children in crisis can continue learning.   Ahead of COP31, the child rights organisation is calling for the urgent phase out of fossil fuels to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and increase investments being directed towards renewable energy.   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/world-spends-more-fossil-fuel-subsidies-every-3-days-amount-needed-educate-750-million http://childfundalliance.org/blog/directory_documents/open-letter-to-support-gpe-replenishment/   June 2026   The Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026   Nearly half of the world’s children – or 1.1 billion – are now exposed to at least three overlapping climate hazards, threatening their health, education, and survival, according to a new UNICEF report launched today.   Almost every child in the world faces at least one climate hazard, while more than 4 million could face as many as six overlapping threats, the report warns.   The Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026 uses the latest available data to map children’s exposure to the eight most frequent climate threats, including coastal floods, droughts, extreme heat, fires, heatwaves, riverine floods, sand and dust storms, and tropical storms.   For the first time, the report reveals exactly where – and how intense – multiple and overlapping climate threats are affecting children and the essential social services they rely on, and how governments can take concrete actions to respond.   “The lives of children continue to be upended by the impact of heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Half of the world’s children are now living with at least three overlapping climate threats shaping their daily lives.”   Drought, extreme heat, and heatwaves are the most widespread combination of climate hazards, with over 296 million children living in areas exposed to all three conditions, according to the findings. The second most common combination – drought, extreme heat, and tropical storms – leaves more than 115 million children worldwide exposed to these overlapping threats.   In the Sahel region of Africa, one of the hardest hit, more than 4 million children face the triple threat of heatwaves, extreme heat, and sand and dust storms, while in countries across Asia, for example Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan, children are exposed to more climate hazards at once and at a higher intensity than anywhere else in the world.   High-income countries are not immune to overlapping climate shocks. In Italy, for example, more than 6 million children are exposed to prolonged heatwaves and drought, the data show. Yet the country illustrates how investment in climate change adaptation can mitigate some of the risks children face, while highlighting the need for further action as the climate crisis intensifies.   In addition to the eight most frequent climate hazards, the report analyses children’s exposure to air pollution and malaria; two risks that are highly sensitive to the effects of climate change.   Data show that air pollution affects nearly every child globally, while 1 billion children are exposed to malaria, adding another layer of danger for children already facing multiple climate hazards.   The report also presents a framework to analyse the different types of risks children face, based on their exposure to climate shocks and their vulnerability, determined by access to essential social services such as healthcare, clean water, education, and more.   The approach can be applied in different ways, from looking at risks related to individual or multiple climate hazards to examining risks across sectors, revealing the threats children face across different contexts.   For example, considering multiple hazards and vulnerabilities together, children in landlocked* and fragile* countries such as the Central African Republic or Chad face overlapping climate hazards while also lacking access to basic services, making it much harder for them to cope and recover.   Meanwhile, all children in 24 Small Island Developing States*, including from Haiti to Vanuatu, are exposed to tropical storms, which can disrupt entire islands at once and overwhelm essential services, the report notes.   Without urgent efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate hazards will grow more frequent and severe, placing even greater strain on government budgets and systems, threatening children's well-being, the report warns.   To protect children’s rights from climate threats and adapt to growing environmental changes, UNICEF is calling on governments, businesses and relevant actors to:   Reduce emissions and take ambitious action to fulfil existing international commitments, grounded in the best available science, including the urgent phasing-out of fossil fuels and a just transition towards renewable energy.   Protect children through inclusive climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and responses to loss and damage that prioritise the resilience of social services, ensuring that children and child-critical services are included in national adaptation plans and sector strategies, disaster risk governance, preparedness and response plans.   This includes, for example, developing safe and green learning facilities and climate‑resilient health care facilities, securing children’s food security, making multi‑hazard early warning systems effective for children and accessible to the services they rely on, and strengthening the efficiency of water and sanitation services, as well as shock‑responsive social protection systems.   Empower children and young people to meaningfully participate in climate action by investing in climate education, knowledge and skills, and by strengthening the capacity of decision makers and experts to respect children’s rights to be heard, freedom of expression, and participation in decisions that affect their lives.   “This analysis can help governments and decision-makers plan better and invest more effectively in resilient services,” said Russell. “When we strengthen health and education systems, and improve infrastructure with children in mind, we protect them from today’s climate threats and help secure their future.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/nearly-half-worlds-children-exposed-least-three-overlapping-climate-threats-unicef
	The war in the Middle East is pushing millions of children into deeper poverty by Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director   Aug. 2026   Conflict, economic instability, rising costs pushing millions of children into deeper poverty, by Catherine Russell - UNICEF Executive Director   Over 23 million additional children are likely to fall into monetary poverty by the end of the year, as ongoing tensions in the Middle East and related shipping disruptions continue to have a damaging and potentially irreversible impact on children, according to a new analysis by UNICEF released today.   The Impact of the War in the Middle East on Children in Monetarily Poor Households draws on data from over 167 countries and highlights how rising food and energy prices, and broader economic shocks resulting from escalating hostilities – including disruptions linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – are eroding what households can afford to buy. Children in the poorest households are disproportionately affected.   “Children are paying the price for the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including children far beyond the region,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.   “The longer this continues, the worse the consequences will be. Rapidly rising costs are making food and education unaffordable for many families. For children already living in poverty, these shocks deepen deprivation and can cause harm that lasts a lifetime.”   The report examines two possible scenarios: adverse and severe poverty. The adverse scenario reflects a moderate economic shock that could push an additional 18.3 million children into monetary poverty, while the severe scenario assumes stronger, more prolonged disruptions to prices and economic activity and projects that 23.4 additional children could be pushed into monetary poverty if the war continues.   The analysis shows that child monetary poverty is highly sensitive to macroeconomic shocks. Increasing food and energy costs, combined with limited fiscal space in many countries, are directly reducing families’ ability to meet basic needs.   The largest proportions of the global increase in monetary poverty are in Asia and Africa, with the two regions accounting for around 80 per cent of the total increase. Both continents reflect high baseline poverty rates and high vulnerability to external shocks.   For example, in Somalia, the Middle East crisis has had immediate consequences. Fuel prices in Mogadishu more than doubled within days of the escalation, increasing the cost of food, water, transport and humanitarian assistance as the country grapples with a deepening malnutrition crisis.   In Ethiopia, disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz have driven up fuel costs, with a knock-on effect on daily essentials. Diesel prices have risen by 31 per cent and humanitarian fuel costs have gone up by 50-70 per cent, making it more difficult to deliver aid to hard-to-reach communities.   In Nigeria, the economic shocks have exacerbated poverty. Low-income households spend between 60-70 per cent of their income on food and transport, meaning even a slight increase in prices reduces their purchasing power.   Across Bangladesh, the rising cost of staple foods such as rice, lentils, cooking oil, vegetables, fish and poultry, is putting increasing pressure on families, and an estimated 1.2 million more people could fall into poverty.   The report warns that the repercussions of the war are resulting in a reversal of years of global progress, and without timely and targeted policy responses, the crisis will push millions of children further behind, increasing the poverty gap and making it harder for families to recover. It is limiting families’ access to food, healthcare, education, and protection services, which are needed to ensure children’s physical and cognitive development.   UNICEF is calling on national governments, donor governments, and international financial institutions to protect children from the worst impacts of the crisis. Priority actions include:   Safeguarding domestic and international funding for services and supplies children rely on, including health, nutrition, education and child protection.   Scaling up and sustaining social protection systems, including child-sensitive cash transfers, ensuring continuity of support before subsidies are removed.   Facilitating children and families’ uninterrupted access to affordable essential services and supplies, including through minimum spending floors that rise with inflation.   Expanding fiscal space to protect domestic investment in essential services, including through debt-service suspension or debt restructuring in contexts where debt servicing exceeds spending on health, education, or social protection.   Setting up and implementing child-focused preparedness systems that allow support to reach children rapidly and at scale when shocks hit, including through global cooperation to mitigate the impact of evolving and future shocks.   “This crisis is putting the lives and futures of children at risk. If the world fails to act swiftly, the combined effects of conflict, economic instability and rising costs will push millions of children into deeper poverty,” said Russell. “We could see hard-earned development gains unravel.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/over-23-million-additional-children-risk-poverty-middle-east-conflict-drives-global http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/famine-harsh-reality-children-acute-hunger-numbers-double-over-past-decade http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/hundreds-health-and-nutrition-facilities-closed-somalias-child-crisis-deepens http://www.unicef.org/afghanistan/press-releases/unicef-calls-urgent-action-peak-wasting-season-nears-and-child-food-and-nutrition   16 June 2026   UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell remarks at the Annual Session of the UNICEF Executive Board. (Extract):   "I’d like to highlight an issue that has deeply concerning implications for whether children can realize their right to essential services and care – the fiscal burden of servicing huge and unsustainable debt.   “Today, nearly 400 million children live in countries where debt burdens are outpacing investment in health, education, and nutrition. In 37 countries, home to approximately 1.1 billion children, governments now spend more servicing debt than they do on health. This means less available resources for children’s vaccines, medicine, and primary health care.   “The consequences are profound. These countries account for an estimated 3.2 million under-five deaths, and 96 million stunted children each year.   “In other words, children are suffering and dying because their governments are spending increasingly high levels of their revenue to service their debts – resources that could otherwise be used on essential services.   “How the world responds to this debt crisis is one of the most consequential questions for children everywhere. The choices made now – on debt restructuring, on fiscal space, on what gets protected, and what gets cut – will shape the trajectory of an entire generation.   “Three decades ago, we saw some success in debt reduction. Debt relief initiatives helped create fiscal space for investments in child survival, education, and development. This created a fresh start for some fragile states. However, many countries eventually experienced a return to the high risk of debt distress due to global commodity price drops, climate shocks, and new borrowing.   “Debt sustainability is often discussed in financial terms. But for children, it is ultimately about whether schools remain open, whether health workers are paid, whether nutrition programmes continue, and whether governments can invest in the next generation.   “In this sense, debt is not only a financial issue. It is a child-rights issue. And protecting children's rights requires protecting investments in children."   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-catherine-russell-remarks-debt-development-and-next-generation http://joining-forces.org/publications/balancing-anations-books-on-childrens-backs/ Visit the related web page
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