. 24/7 Space News .
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Every child under 'immediate threat' from climate, poor diet: UN
By Patrick GALEY
Paris (AFP) Feb 18, 2020

The world is failing to protect children from the health dangers posed by climate change and poor diet, a landmark UN report said Wednesday, warning that every child is under "immediate threat".

According to more than 40 of the world's pre-eminent child and adolescent health experts, not one country on Earth is adequately protecting the next generation from the impacts of carbon emissions, the destruction of nature and high-calorie and processed foods.

They said that excessive carbon emissions, produced overwhelmingly by wealthier nations, "threaten the future of all children" and will burden them with additional health dangers, from deadly heatwaves to the increased spread of tropical diseases.

The report, commissioned by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, also highlights the threat children face from harmful marketing of fat- and sugar-laden foods, alcohol and tobacco.

"The big message is that no single country is protecting children's health today and for their future," said Anthony Costello, professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London.

"When you look at the damage being done to children's lungs by air pollution, we've got a very limited time to sort this out," he told AFP.

"We have the solutions, what we don't have is the political leadership and will to make it happen."

The report, published in The Lancet medical journal, ranks the performance of 180 countries when it comes to child survival, education and nutrition rates.

Under these criteria, less-developed nations such as Central African Republic and Chad perform particularly poorly compared to rich countries such as Norway and the Netherlands.

However the rankings are largely reversed when the impacts of air pollution from per capita carbon emissions were assessed.

"The world's decision makers are failing today's children and youth: failing to protect their health, failing to protect their rights, and failing to protect their planet," said WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

- 11-fold obesity surge -

Around 250 million under-fives in low- and middle-income countries risk being stunted due to malnutrition and other impacts of poverty, the authors said.

At the same time, the number of obese children worldwide has surged 11-fold since 1975 to stand at 124 million.

Children in some countries see as many as 30,000 adverts on television in a single year. And despite industry self-regulation, one study showed that children in Australia were exposed 51 million times to alcohol adverts in just one year of televised sport.

"Industry regulation has failed," said Costello.

"And the reality could be much worse still: we have few figures about the huge expansion of social media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children."

The authors called on governments to radically reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris climate goals and to tighten regulation of harmful marketing.

Current emissions pledges put Earth on course to warm more than 3C by 2100, which "would lead to devastating health consequences for children", from rising sea levels and heatwaves to disease and malnutrition.


Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


CLIMATE SCIENCE
UN talks struggle to stave off climate chaos
Madrid (AFP) Dec 13, 2019
United Nations climate negotiations in Madrid were set to wrap up Friday with even the best-case outcome likely to fall well short of what science says is needed to avert a future ravaged by global warming. The COP25 summit comes on the heels of climate-related disasters across the planet, including unprecedented cyclones, deadly droughts and record-setting heatwaves. Scientists have amassed a mountain of evidence pointing to even more dire impacts on the near horizon, while millions of youth a ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

CLIMATE SCIENCE
NASA science and cargo head to Space Station

Geneva invention show delayed over novel coronavirus

Source reveals timeline for US first launch of manned vehicle to ISS after nearly decade-long hiatus

US negotiating to buy one or two seats on Soyuz

CLIMATE SCIENCE
SpaceX launch grows Starlink constellation to more than 300 satellites

Electric solid propellant - can it take the heat?

Artemis I progresses toward launch

Aerojet Rocketdyne wins DARPA hypersonic propulsion technology contract

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Nilosyrtis Mensae - erosion on a large scale

SwRI models hint at longer timescale for Mars formation

Salt water may periodically form on the surface of Mars

Mars 2020 rover goes coast-to-coast to prep for launch

CLIMATE SCIENCE
China's Long March-5B carrier rocket arrives at launch site

China to launch more space science satellites

China's space station core module, manned spacecraft arrive at launch site

China to launch Mars probe in July

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Understanding the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy

Arianespace and Starsem launch 34 OneWeb satellites to help bridge the digital divide

RUAG Space dispenses another batch of Airbus OneWeb satellites

Azercosmos and Infostellar to enter into Ground Station Partnership

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Cracks actually protect historical paintings against environmental fluctuation

Going viral: Demand for disease-themed movies and games explodes

Researchers develop smaller, lighter radiation shielding

Army researchers develop new method for analyzing metal

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Earth's cousins: Upcoming missions to look for 'biosignatures' in exoplanet atmospheres

Looking for aliens who might be looking for us

Scientists discover nearest known 'baby giant planet'

Scientists pick up pattern of space radio signals for 1st time, study says

CLIMATE SCIENCE
A close-up of Arrokoth reveals how planetary building blocks were constructed

New Horizons team discovers a critical piece of the planetary formation puzzle

Pluto's icy heart makes winds blow

Why Uranus and Neptune are different









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.