I want world leaders to act now

IN the countdown to COP26, young people from around the world will each day be telling the Daily Mirror why the environment summit cannot fail and will share their hopes for the future.

Today, Tahsin Uddin Ibne Rafiq, 23, from Bangladesh, writes that world leaders must make big decisions next week that will ensure the safety and future of his home country, which is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

By 2050 sea levels in Bangladesh are projected to rise by 50cm, which would affect an estimated 15 million people living in the country’s low-lying coastline.

Tahsin writes: “The frequency of a wide range of natural disasters is increasing in Bangladesh every year. “Coastal communities, especially children, are the most vulnerable.

“As a UNICEF Youth Advocate, I am training young people to adapt to the problems of climate change. “I run tree-planting programmes and provide information to communities at risk of climate change phenomena. I also work to support and protect the mental health of climate change victims.

“I want to see world leaders play an effective role in implementing the Paris Agreement which agreed to keep the rise in global temperatures ‘well below’ 2C above pre-industrial levels.

“At COP26 particularly, I would like to see leaders decide to take joint steps to make sure that countries like Bangladesh – that are the main victims of climate change, despite not contributing to the causes of it – do not face any further losses.”

■ The climate crisis is a children’s crisis. Half the world’s children live in areas at high risk of climate and environmental hazards and stresses – including droughts, floods, heatwaves and air pollution – but every child will be affected.

At COP26, UNICEF UK is urging the UK Government to give children a seat at the table, listen to their views and put them at the heart of the response to the crisis.

HOPES Tahsin