The world is witnessing a genocide in Gaza. In addition to the extreme loss of life, restrictions on humanitarian access and forced displacement, Gaza has also suffered devastating environmental degradation and is being impacted by the climate crisis. CRIN's latest briefing considers the combined impact of Israel’s bombardment since 7 October 2023, environmental degradation and climate change on Gaza’s children, as well as the need for international legal action to address the effects.

Before COP30 in November, CRIN is critically reviewing the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of States: two initiatives aimed at enhancing the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). How can UN climate talks ensure both children’s rights and human rights are centred when discussing societal, sectoral and economic change?

Amid overwhelming evidence of Israel’s atrocities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, human rights organisations and trade unions are urging the EU to ensure a thorough review of Israel’s compliance with article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. A credible review can only reach one conclusion: that Israel is in severe non-compliance with article 2 and that the EU-Israel Association Agreement must be suspended, at least in part. The EU must act now.

While the EU has banned many pesticides deemed too dangerous for use within its borders, EU-based companies are still allowed to manufacture and export banned substances to countries with weaker protections. This toxic double-standard violates children's rights, endangers vulnerable communities and threatens ecosystems all over the world.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is at a breaking point. In marginalising vulnerable States, Indigenous Peoples and civil society, while allowing the largest historical polluters to avoid legal obligations and accountability, the UNFCC is running out of trust. Effective multilateralism is essential to navigate coming crises without leaving anyone behind.

“How far must we go for those who hold decision-making power to remember that the future we will inherit depends precisely on the decisions they chose not to make? What will it take for decision-makers to realise that climate justice is about children’s rights, too?” – Santiago Flores Medina