Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COUNTRIES
    • AFRICA
      • BOTSWANA
      • CAMEROON
      • GAMBIA
      • GHANA
      • KENYA
      • KINGDOM OF eSWATINI
      • LESOTHO
      • MALAWI
      • MAURITIUS
      • MOZAMBIQUE
      • NAMIBIA
      • NIGERIA
      • RWANDA
      • SEYCHELLES
      • SIERRA LEONE
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • TANZANIA
      • UGANDA
      • ZAMBIA
    • ASIA
      • BANGLADESH
      • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
      • INDIA
      • MALAYSIA
      • MALDIVES
      • PAKISTAN
      • SINGAPORE
      • SRI LANKA
    • CARIBBEAN AND AMERICAS
      • ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
      • BAHAMAS
      • BARBADOS
      • BELIZE
      • CANADA
      • DOMINICA
      • GRENADA
      • GUYANA
      • JAMAICA
      • SAINT LUCIA
      • ST KITTS AND NEVIS
      • ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
      • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
    • EUROPE
      • CYPRUS
      • MALTA
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • PACIFIC
      • AUSTRALIA
      • FIJI
      • KIRIBATI
      • NAURU
      • NEW ZEALAND
      • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
      • SAMOA
      • SOLOMON ISLANDS
      • TONGA
      • TUVALU
      • VANUATU
  • AREAS OF WORK
    • GOVERNMENT
    • EDUCATION
    • HEALTH
    • ICT
    • INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
    • NATURAL RESOURCES
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
  • OUR PUBLICATIONS
    • CHOGM
      • COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT INTERIM REPORT 2020
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2018 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2015 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2011 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2009 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2007 REPORT
    • HEALTH
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2022
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2020
    • EDUCATION
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2023
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2021
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2019
    • MINISTERS
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2017
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2015
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2014
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2011
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2007
    • FINANCE
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REPORT 2012
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2007
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
      • AFRICA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REPORT 2013
    • QUEEN AND COMMONWEALTH
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: 90 GLORIOUS YEARS
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT US
Commonwealth Business Communications
Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • COUNTRIES
    • AFRICA
      • BOTSWANA
      • CAMEROON
      • GAMBIA
      • GHANA
      • KENYA
      • KINGDOM OF eSWATINI
      • LESOTHO
      • MALAWI
      • MAURITIUS
      • MOZAMBIQUE
      • NAMIBIA
      • NIGERIA
      • RWANDA
      • SEYCHELLES
      • SIERRA LEONE
      • SOUTH AFRICA
      • TANZANIA
      • UGANDA
      • ZAMBIA
    • ASIA
      • BANGLADESH
      • BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
      • INDIA
      • MALAYSIA
      • MALDIVES
      • PAKISTAN
      • SINGAPORE
      • SRI LANKA
    • CARIBBEAN AND AMERICAS
      • ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
      • BAHAMAS
      • BARBADOS
      • BELIZE
      • CANADA
      • DOMINICA
      • GRENADA
      • GUYANA
      • JAMAICA
      • SAINT LUCIA
      • ST KITTS AND NEVIS
      • ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
      • TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
    • EUROPE
      • CYPRUS
      • MALTA
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • PACIFIC
      • AUSTRALIA
      • FIJI
      • KIRIBATI
      • NAURU
      • NEW ZEALAND
      • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
      • SAMOA
      • SOLOMON ISLANDS
      • TONGA
      • TUVALU
      • VANUATU
  • AREAS OF WORK
    • GOVERNMENT
    • EDUCATION
    • HEALTH
    • ICT
    • INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
    • NATURAL RESOURCES
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
  • OUR PUBLICATIONS
    • CHOGM
      • COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT INTERIM REPORT 2020
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2018 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2015 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2011 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2009 REPORT
      • THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING 2007 REPORT
    • HEALTH
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2022
      • COMMONWEALTH HEALTH REPORT 2020
    • EDUCATION
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2023
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2021
      • COMMONWEALTH EDUCATION REPORT 2019
    • MINISTERS
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2017
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2015
      • MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK COMMONWEALTH 2014
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2011
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH MINISTERS REFERENCE BOOK 2007
    • FINANCE
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REPORT 2012
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2010
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2009
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2008
      • COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS REFERENCE REPORT 2007
    • TRADE AND INVESTMENT
      • AFRICA INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REPORT 2013
    • QUEEN AND COMMONWEALTH
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S PLATINUM JUBILEE
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: 90 GLORIOUS YEARS
      • QUEEN & COMMONWEALTH: CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY’S DIAMOND JUBILEE
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • CONTACT US

UNEP – BUILDING BACK BETTER

  • CBC News Team
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Building back from COVID-19 will be an inter-generational effort. Decisions being taken now about what sectors of our economy to prioritize and what opportunities to seize in the recovery effort may impact the lives of children and youth disproportionately. Securing a healthy, safe future that is more resilient to global threats is fundamental, as this emerging generation of voters and consumers are increasingly aware.

School programmes moved online. Schedules changed. Routines thrown into turmoil. It is difficult to know what long-term changes COVID-19 will have on the children who are enduring the current pandemic, but something surely is coming. Whether it is shifts in attitude toward society, work or education, the youngest generation will not come out of this the same.

One area where attitudes may shift most is on the environment. 

Already, youth are way ahead of their elders when it comes to protecting the planet. Now, a generation of young people will have seen first-hand the impacts of a truly global crisis. For the youth voices anxious about the climate emergency, the pandemic may well only harden their resolve.

There is already evidence of this. Many movements led by young people, such as Fridays for Future, which have shifted the social tenor of climate action, have not stopped, but moved online. During this time of social distancing, rather than a hiatus, young people are making their voices heard from home.

And beyond social action, young people continue to make strides politically and legally. Newly-elected officials in parts of the world swept into office by young people are working to prioritize environmental assurances for COVID-19 recovery efforts. Youth-led petitions continue to work their way through courts in Colombia, Canada, Norway, the US and elsewhere to compel environmental action from governments and businesses.

Another process has begun as well, but this time through a global initiative. UNEP is supporting efforts to advance a child’s right to a healthy, safe, clean and sustainable environment.

No group is more vulnerable to environmental harm than children, as David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, explains.

“Every child on Earth, no matter what country they live in, should have the right to live, play and study in healthy environments. Today, far too many children suffer from polluted air, contaminated water, and inadequate food. Also worrisome are the growing impacts of climate change and the decline of ecosystems and biodiversity, which will inflict increasing harm on children in the future, including more pandemics like COVID-19, unless current trends are reversed.”

The Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative will culminate in the preparation of a “Declaration on Children’s Right to a Healthy Environment”. The Declaration will inspire further action to set standards at the international and national levels and feed into efforts to establish a global right to a healthy environment. Work on the Declaration began with consultations in both Latin America and Asia in 2019, and it will continue to evolve through next year as more regions are brought in.

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of global systems to protect the environment, health and economy, demonstrating that there are no individual solutions to a global crisis. But the pandemic has allowed us to revisit our relationship with nature and provided the opportunity to build back better on a planetary scale. Central to this effort will be the principle that we should all have the right to a healthy environment. In particular, we must uphold this right for children who are often not able to exercise their rights.

It’s a principle that has been echoed in the statements of the UN Secretary-General, who has said that building back better must “respect the rights of future generations.”

If youth attitudes continue to solidify over environmental action because of the pandemic, the adults may not have a choice. As Boyd notes,

“Millions of children and youth across the planet are calling for change. The children have spoken. Now the adults must act.”

Learn More: UN Environment Programme

Image by Alexandra Koch from Pixabay

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Related Topics
  • ENVIRONMENT
CBC News Team

Previous Article

IRENA AND ESCAP STEP UP JOINT EFFORTS TO SUPPORT ASIA-PACIFIC’S CRISIS RESPONSE

  • CBC News Team
Read More
Next Article

SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES

  • CBC News Team
Read More
You May Also Like
African leaders show the “gap” during the campaign launch in the United Nations HQ. (Centre left) H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal; (Second from left) H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania; (Centre) H.E. Josefa Sacko, African Union Commissioner, ARBE; (Centre left) Harsen Nyambe, Director: Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment at the African Union; (Second from left) Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD; (Right) Hon. Carl Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water, & Forestry, Namibia; (Left) Alex Simalabwi, Executive Director: High-Level Panel Secretariat
Read More
  • Agriculture
  • Natural Resources
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • AFRICA
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

African Leaders commit to Mind the Gap – Invest in Water as the race to achieve SDG 6 in Africa accelerates

  • CBC News Team
  • 25 September 2023
Sustainable Blue Economy Malta
Read More
  • Heads of Government
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • MALTA
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Malta Enterprise launches the Blue Med – a focal point for sustainable blue economy

  • CBC News Team
  • 21 September 2023
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023
Read More
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition

  • CBC News Team
  • 21 August 2023
Kenyan Flag crosses over Union Jack on a desk in an office demostrating UK–Kenya development partnership
Read More
  • Heads of Government
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • UNITED KINGDOM
  • KENYA
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

UK–Kenya development partnership summary, July 2023

  • CBC News Team
  • 24 July 2023
Solomon Islands introduces first fleet of e-buses
Read More
  • Technology
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
  • SOLOMON ISLANDS

Solomon Islands introduces first fleet of e-buses

  • CBC News Team
  • 19 April 2023
Commonwealth climate
Read More
  • CHOGM Reports
  • Heads of Government
  • Technology
  • AFRICA
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
  • RWANDA

Commonwealth leaders advocate for climate change

  • CBC News Team
  • 23 June 2022
Commonwealth youth
Read More
  • CHOGM Reports
  • Education & Youth
  • Heads of Government
  • Health
  • AFRICA
  • CHOGM
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
  • RWANDA

Commonwealth young leaders unite to shape a brighter future

  • CBC News Team
  • 21 June 2022
Australia emission target
Read More
  • Natural Resources
  • Trade & Investment
  • Infrastructure Development
  • AUSTRALIA
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Australia sets out ambitious emissions target

  • CBC News Team
  • 16 June 2022
OUR LATEST PUBLICATION
Commonwealth Education Report 2023
EDUCATION 23

Subscribe to our Newsletter

PARTNER FOCUS
Recent Posts
  • HE Dr Madeleine Tchuinte, Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation, and Mr Hua Liu, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, signed Cameroon’s Country Programme Framework (CPF) for the period of 2024-2029. (Photo: J. O'Brien/ IAEA)
    Cameroon Signs its Country Programme Framework (CPF) for 2024-2029
  • Manutius human rights webinar
    Commonwealth and Mauritian Government host webinar to help businesses protect human rights
  • Pakistan floods one year on
    One year on from catastrophic floods, millions of children in Pakistan still need urgent support
  • Ministry of Health Kenya WHO National Multi-Hazard Preparedness Plan Workshop
    Kenya: Ministry of Health partners with WHO to conclude National Multi-Hazard Preparedness Plan Workshop

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Commonwealth Business Communications
  • HOME
  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2022 Commonwealth Business Communications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.