The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis - that's why we support the 89% campaign

89% demand change

A 2024 study of over 130,000 citizens in 125 countries found that 89% believe their governments are doing too little to address the climate crisis. A crisis that means life on this planet will never be the same again.

The research behind the 89% campaign is based on real voices - individuals asking their elected officials to do more. But 11-year-old Mim Akter, who lives in one of Bangladesh's most climate-affected areas, was not asked. Yet Mim belongs to the group that has contributed least to her precarious existence. Emissions from the global north determined Mim's fate long before she was born.

Climate crisis threatens children's rights

For many people, climate change has already changed their daily lives. One of them is Mim Akter, who lives with her parents and five siblings on a sand island in the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh.

The sand islands are inaccessible, constantly changing and subject to recurrent floods and cyclones. Landslides and soil erosion make it difficult to build permanent infrastructure.

When storms hit, they sweep away homes and school buildings, wiping out children's access to safety and education. Both child marriage and child labor are common in Bangladesh, particularly affecting children who can no longer get to school.

Our choices affect children's future

As a child rights organisation with a non-profit second-hand chain, we are constantly working to extend the life of things and save the earth's resources. How we produce, consume and conduct climate policy is a child rights issue. For every kilogram of carbon dioxide emissions, the possibility of a safe and secure future for the world's children is affected.

The surplus from our stores goes to the work for children's rights and to reduce the injustices created by the climate crisis.In Bangladesh, Erikshjälpen collaborates with the local organization Friendship to enable children to go to school despite the climate disasters that constantly threaten the country. Together we have established schools that can be moved, they can be dismantled when the flood comes and rebuilt in a new and safe place. Children are also being trained in disaster preparedness and their rights. In this way, they are involved in changing not only their own future, but that of entire communities.

Your circular purchases give hope for the future of the climate and contribute to preparedness and adaptation in places where it is already vital. Consumers are leading the way today - by making sustainable choices, challenging the norms of neo-consumerism and shopping in a circular way. Choices that in small ways make a big difference, for the planet and for Mim and her classmates.

Politicians, show that you are on the side of children

The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis and by addressing one, we can counteract the other. Make your voice heard to show that we are a strong majority, for the climate, and for every child. Children's right to a secure future cannot rest on individual initiatives - it requires political leadership. That's why we are committed to the 89% campaign and call on this and future governments: take responsibility, act now and show that you are on the side of children on climate.

Author:
Jerker Sandell, Executive Director of Erikshjälpen Second Hand
Mattias Ingeson, Secretary-General of the children's rights organization Erikshjälpen