Save the Children害羞草研究所檚 global advocate says Canada could lead an effort to have youth steer the reform of global institutions to fight climate change, while urging Ottawa to reverse aid cuts.

害羞草研究所淐anada is uniquely placed today to really help the world to lead differently, to help young people to find hope for the future,害羞草研究所� said Rotimy Djossaya, the charity害羞草研究所檚 global policy head, during a recent visit to Ottawa.

害羞草研究所淐anada can play a critical role in ensuring that the world is prioritizing gender and human rights.害羞草研究所�

In mid-September, leaders gathered at the United Nations to take stock of the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of objectives such as gender equality, ending extreme poverty and ensuring a quality secondary education for every child. The goals involve 140 specific targets agreed upon in 2015, to be achieved by 2030.

Yet the United Nations says just 15 per cent of those targets have been reached, and 193 countries have agreed to speed up progress over the remaining seven years.

害羞草研究所淲e are off track. So, we need leaders; we need commitment,害羞草研究所� Djossaya said.

In the case of Canada, Djossaya said a feminist international aid policy has inspired other countries to take gender equality seriously, and to reform how they fund projects in developing countries in order to empower groups on the ground.

Yet he said the funding Canada has promised and the timelines it has set out do not account for the challenges these countries are facing, or the targets set out by the United Nations.

In this spring害羞草研究所檚 budget, the Liberals earmarked a $1.3-billion drop in funding, amounting to 15 per cent less than the year before.

The Trudeau government insists this is not a cut, since the budget remains larger than Canada害羞草研究所檚 aid expenditures before the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia害羞草研究所檚 invasion of Ukraine. But it fits a trend of western countries pulling back on aid spending amid a series of climate disasters and refugee crises.

Those trends are hitting children hard, Djossaya said. His organization has surveyed 54,000 children across 41 countries, and found they roundly feel adults aren害羞草研究所檛 doing enough to deal with what they perceive as increasing inequality and climate chaos.

害羞草研究所淭hey are struggling to understand the world that we害羞草研究所檒l live in tomorrow. They are struggling to understand the unprecedented scale of the impact of climate change of natural disasters,害羞草研究所� Djossaya said.

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This month, the Overseas Development Institute said Canada has contributed just 51 per cent of its 害羞草研究所渇air share害羞草研究所� of the billions needed to help countries adapt to climate change, based on greenhouse gas emissions, gross national income and population size.

Meanwhile, in August the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that inaction on climate change amounts to violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that virtually every country adheres to, which gives more teeth to legal challenges of governments that don害羞草研究所檛 take climate change seriously.

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 an urgent need for us to step up,害羞草研究所� Djossaya said. 害羞草研究所淗ow are we using the tools to really deliver, for the next generation, a livable planet? It害羞草研究所檚 for me something which is alarming.害羞草研究所�

At the United Nations, Canada has argued there is not enough funding available to poorer countries to meet these targets, particularly those coping with increasing natural disasters associated with climate change.

For example, about 60 per cent of people in Africa don害羞草研究所檛 have access to early-warning systems to help them escape disasters, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Ottawa has argued the most viable way to face these types of challenges is to reform global financial institutions, to give more financing for carbon-neutral infrastructure that better protects these countries from hurricanes and wildfires.

Djossaya said those reforms are crucial, but Canada and its peers shouldn害羞草研究所檛 shirk their own responsibilities.

He noted an underfunded program in Burkina Faso designed by young adults, to make sure that families on the move due to climate change can make sure their children keep up with their schooling, through a network of schools in various regions that can integrate kids who had to move partway through a school year.

That program is in a region where young people are facing limited opportunities, and are recruited by terrorist groups.

害羞草研究所淭he only way to be successful 害羞草研究所� is to really put the children and young people themselves at the heart of the solutions,害羞草研究所� Djossaya said.

害羞草研究所淲e don害羞草研究所檛 have time to lose. We need to act now, and make sure that we are shaping a world which will remain livable for the generations to come.害羞草研究所�

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen wouldn害羞草研究所檛 say whether Ottawa will further boost its current aid allocation, but he noted the United Nations has put Canada as one of the leaders of an advocacy project for the Sustainable Development Goals.

害羞草研究所淐anada is actually leading in this space,害羞草研究所� Hussen said. 害羞草研究所淭his is not the time to pivot 害羞草研究所� we are at the halfway point and if we work hard, we can get the job done.害羞草研究所�