DUBAI — Less than 1 percent of investments from global multilateral funds are being channeled into youth-led innovations and creative solutions to combat climate change, while only 2.4 percent of climate finance from major multilateral climate funds is directed to assist children, said Carla Haddad Mardini, Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships at UNICEF.
Speaking on the sidelines of COP28, Mardini emphasized that the climate crisis impacts everyone, particularly children, noting, “The climate crisis is a child rights crisis.”
The UN official expressed hope that COP28 would lay the groundwork for COP30 in Brazil in two years, especially in the Amazon region, which “is impacted by climate change.”
She advocated for the inclusion of youth in negotiations in an interactive manner, saying, “Our appeal is that children and youth are integral to any discussion, debate, negotiation in a meaningful, participatory, and intentional way. Here in Dubai for COP, we’ve seen massive youth and children delegations.”
She noted that COP28 has achieved several important results and initiatives, notably the Loss and Damage Fund and addressing mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change, emphasizing, “We need to view adaptation and mitigation as two sides of the same coin.”
Climate adaptation is essential for protecting people and places by making them less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
She highlighted that UNICEF, a UN agency, supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children worldwide through voluntary contributions from governments and the private sector.
The UN official stressed that total contributions to UNICEF amounted to $9.3 billion, with the private sector contributing about $3.1 billion to support global programs.
She noted, “This is significant, but still a drop in the ocean. We need to aggregate and draw in both the private and public sectors to support major multilaterals, to really move at scale and make a difference in areas hardest hit by climate change.”
To advance climate action, Haddad highlighted the importance of practical approaches to sustainability and mobilizing capital to enable the private sector’s transition from small and medium-sized projects to larger ones.
She pointed out that the current climate summit in Dubai offers a unique opportunity, with significant momentum generated by the substantial presence of the private sector, a contrast to the public sector’s dominance at the previous COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships at UNICEF emphasized the necessity of mobilizing stakeholders and involving the private sector more extensively, along with the public sector, to effect change and support areas affected by climate change. (WAM)