First Focus on Children sent the following letter to President Joe Biden as well as John Kerry, the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate National Security Council, and White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy urging them to meaningfully include discussions regarding children and young people in the Leaders’ Climate Summit.
Excerpt from the letter:
This summit is an excellent opportunity to discuss the impacts of climate change on children. It is often overlooked that children are impacted differently, and sometimes more harshly, by climate change. Children are not just little adults. Their bodies react differently to toxic environmental exposures because of differences in physiology and behavior. Children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air in relation to their body weight than adults. They also exhibit hand-to-mouth behavior frequently and live and play closer to the ground. These differences put them at a much higher risk of being exposed to environmental threats, such as air pollution, water pollution, and toxic substances.