Cambodian Children at High Risk from Climate Change

Under the title “The Climate Crisis is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index”, UNICEF has just published in August the first comprehensive analysis of climate risks from the perspective of children.

For the first time, the UN agency ranks countries according to the exposure and vulnerability of children to climate and environmental shocks and Cambodia ranks 46th out of 163 countries worldwide. (See the world atlas of this ranking https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/0d9d2209bf104584a65e012b03b6d3f8/)

Clearly, 117 out of 163 countries are better placed than Cambodia to deal with climate change. According to the report, Cambodian children are at high risk of water scarcity, river flooding and vector-borne diseases.

However, the report notes, investments in social services, particularly access to water, sanitation and hygiene, health and nutrition, education, and social protection services, can make a significant difference in safeguarding the future of Cambodian children from the impacts of climate change.

“The climate crisis is a child rights crisis because it threatens all aspects of children’s health and well-being in a way that humanity has never experienced before.”, said UNICEF’s Representative in Cambodia. “We must invest in the services they depend on to survive and thrive. Strong systems and services will help protect their future from the effects of climate change and environmental degradation”, she added.

Asked by the Phnom Penh Post, Neth Pheaktra, spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, noted that the government has increased the budget four times in the past eight years to address the problems caused by climate change. According to the spokesman, an estimated $900 million investment from the government and development partners is planned for the five-year project implemented in collaboration with 14 other institutions and ministries to mitigate the effects of climate change. “Cambodia is not a country that causes climate change, but it will still be affected. So Cambodia must be a country that actively fights climate change and be recognized for it”, Neth Pheaktra insisted.