
Children born in 2020 'severely threatened' by climate change compared to older generations: study
CTV
Younger generations are more severely threatened by climate change as extreme weather events such as heat waves will rise in frequency, intensity and duration, a climate study says.
The study, published last week in the journal Science, says that under global warming, extreme events such as heat waves will “continue to rise in frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent over the next decades,” meaning younger generations will experience far more of them.
The study estimates that under current climate policy pledges, children born in 2020 will experience two to seven times more extreme weather events, particularly heat waves, compared with people born in 1960.
“Our results highlight a severe threat to the safety of young generations and call for drastic emission reductions to safeguard their future,” the study authors state.
Canada, alongside the U.S. and Europe, has raised greenhouse gas emission targets ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland in November.