Save the Children’s new analysis reveals that approximately one in two out-of-school children and adolescents reside in countries most impacted by the climate crisis. This is evident as extreme heat has led to the closure of hundreds of schools in the Philippines, while in South Sudan, students are just returning to school after a heatwave-induced closure affecting tens of thousands of children.
Through the analysis, Save the Children found that half of the 250 million children and adolescents globally who are not in primary or secondary education live in 36 countries most vulnerable to climate change. These countries, which are least equipped to adapt, represent only a quarter of children of school age.
The most vulnerable countries to climate change are typically the poorest and most fragile, where children are already at a higher risk of being out-of-school due to various factors such as conflict, poverty, disability, and gender inequality. Climate change exacerbates these challenges by increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and natural disasters impacting education. Since 2020, around 62 million children in 27 countries have had their education disrupted by climate shocks, resulting in long-term learning setbacks from school closures and increased heatwaves.
In South Sudan and the Philippines, scorching temperatures have led to government-mandated school closures. Save the Children’s Interim Global Director Kelley Toole emphasizes the detrimental impact of the climate crisis on children’s right to education and urges action to protect children’s futures from further inequality and injustice.
Over 1 billion children globally, half of the world’s children, live in countries highly susceptible to the effects of climate change. Climate shocks and extreme weather events can damage schools, displace children, and force them into the workforce, with girls being disproportionately affected by these challenges.
As a leading child rights organization, Save the Children works in 116 countries, addressing climate change through all its programs, including education. Initiatives like BRACE and Climate Smart Education Systems aim to build climate-resilient and environmentally friendly schools and integrate climate change awareness into curricula.
Save the Children advocates for a greater focus on understanding the impact of climate change on education, more investment in climate action and education globally, and increased support for the African Union’s 2024 Year of Education initiative.
[2] Save the Children’s analysis utilized UNESCO data on out-of-school children and each country’s climate risk score based on the ND-GAIN Index. Countries were divided into quintiles based on climate risk, with South Sudan included in the top quintile due to its vulnerability to climate change.
[3] The countries most at risk are: Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Chad, Central African Rep, DR Congo, Congo, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Micronesia, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Syria, Chad, Uganda, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
[5] Research from Harvard University in the US shows that without air conditioning, every 1°F increase in school year temperature reduces learning by one percent. (https://apo-opa.co/3U5pWMN)
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.