The National Children’s Campaign is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for policies that improve the environment. We work to protect all children from across the country from environmental hazards. Children from low-income communities and communities of color often have greater exposures of pollutions, higher contaminants and more illnesses such as asthma directly due to poverty or structural racism. We work with elected officials, educators, business leaders and other organizations who are willing to join us in our fight for a healthy environment and combat climate change.
The National Children’s Campaign includes initiatives such as Schools for Climate Action and partners with youth climate organizations who are fighting for young people to have a voice in civic engagement and democracy. We are proud to work hand in hand with Zero Hour and other organizations fighting for a fossil-free future with a goal of 100% clean energy.
Our planet has now reached 415 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The last time atmospheric CO2 concentrations hit 415 ppm was close to 3 million years ago before human civilization evolved.1 Scientists tell us that 350 ppm is the highest concentration of carbon dioxide that is safe to maintain the ecological stability of our climate.2 As we increase our greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, we will continue experiencing a chaotic climate that will only further worsen with time. Even the international goal of stabilizing global temperatures at 1.5 degrees Celsius would lead to a world unrecognizable from today.
The latest iteration of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that if we do not completely transform our energy systems by 2030, we will have irreversible climate dysfunction. These are the last years that our efforts can make a difference for our planet and for every generation that will be born in the years to come.
Children growing up in this changing world have no choice but to face the most severe impacts of a warmer world. Young people today and children yet to be born will be growing up on a planet with an uncertain future. That is why it is our obligation to fight for a world that is safe for all of us. We work to amplify the voices of youth, who are fighting each day to have a future.
1Harvey, C., Scientific American: CO2 Levels Just Hit Another Record-Here’s Why It Matters, May 16, 2019
2McKibben, B., The Washington Post: Remember This: 350 Parts Per Million, December 28, 2007
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