Pollution, loss, degradation and fear are only a few among the tens of terms that we continue to hear regarding climate change and the environment. The world is changing before our eyes, and as important as it is for us to tackle broad issues of climate change, it is just as important, if not more so, to take into account the already disadvantaged families and communities that are feeling these drastic effects more than we know.

Children from underprivileged socioeconomic backgrounds tend to live in areas with high levels of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization, around two billion children live in such conditions, threatening their health and brain development. With that being said, over half a million children under the age of 5 pass away from air-pollution related reasons annually. These conditions and statistics are only amplified further by the dangerous direction we are headed towards environmentally.

Have we been considering these populations when we are advocating and fighting for environmental change? Should we be tackling these issues before and separate from climate change as a whole?

We are currently living in a world where an entire generation of children are born and are growing up in dangerous conditions due to the rapidly changing environment. We need to take action right now, collectively and immediately, for all populations and all ages to combat climate change together.