As governments gather at the June Climate Meetings in Bonn to prepare for COP 31, civil society organizations are calling on parties to place children’s rights, climate education, meaningful participation, and intergenerational justice at the center of climate action.
Bonn, June 11, 2026. During a joint press conference at SB 64, representatives from Alana, ChildFund Alliance, Child Rights International Network (CRIN), Plan International, Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation, Save the Children, and Terre des Hommes highlight the importance of implementing children’s rights across all climate negotiations and implementation processes, including adaptation, climate finance, Just Transition, and Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE).
Press conference invitation for journalists:
📅 Date: June 11, 2026, 4:30 – 5:00 pm (CEST)
📍 Location: World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB), Nairobi 4 (main building)
Climate-Resilient Education and a Stronger ACE Agenda Are Essential for Adaptation
Climate-resilient education systems, climate literacy, and meaningful child participation are essential components of long-term resilience and adaptation. As Parties review and strengthen the ACE beyond COP 31, greater coherence is needed between ACE, adaptation planning, and the Global Goal on Adaptation. Education must be recognized as a core adaptation measure, ensuring that children are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and support needed to understand, prepare for, and respond to climate impacts. National adaptation plans and climate strategies should explicitly reflect children’s rights, needs, and capacities, while ensuring that the progress already achieved under the current ACE Action Plan is maintained and strengthened.
Climate Finance Must Increase for Children and Future Generations
Climate finance should better support children and communities on the frontlines of climate change. Increased investment is needed in child-responsive adaptation, resilience-building, education, ACE implementation, renewable energy, and recovery from climate-related loss and damage. Governments and institutions must strengthen accountability mechanisms to ensure that climate finance reaches children and delivers measurable outcomes for vulnerable populations. Dedicated resources for child-focused climate action are critical to closing the gap between political commitments and implementation and to building a climate-just world.
A Just Transition Must Address the Root Causes of the Climate Crisis
A just transition is essential for securing a peaceful, equitable, and resilient future for present and future generations. Governments must commit to a clear roadmap for the phase-out of fossil fuels while accelerating investment in renewable energy, a green economy, climate adaptation, and recovery from climate-related loss and damage. At the same time, climate and transition policies must uphold human rights and place children’s rights at their core.
About Plant-for-the-Planet
Plant-for-the-Planet is a global initiative for climate action founded in 2007 by then nine-year-old Felix Finkbeiner. Through climate education, the organization empowers children and youth to take action and has trained more than 100,000 climate justice ambassadors across 76 countries. In close cooperation with local communities, Plant-for-the-Planet drives the science-based restoration of biodiverse forests. Alongside practical restoration work, the organization develops open-source software for reforestation projects. Plant-for-the-Planet also engages in political advocacy for effective forest protection and global climate justice.
Media Contact: Victoria Krumbeck | PR Manager | +49 8808-92108131 | [email protected]
