UNITED Nations children's arm UNICEF has urged Spain to take emergency measures to protect its young from the effects of climate change, warning that the western Mediterranean country is one of Europe's most at-risk nations because of its being such a dry terrain.
Whilst home to lush, verdant mountains, pastures and forests, Spain also houses deserts and some of its provinces are in danger of further desertification caused by deforestation.
Also, the ongoing drought coupled with the habitual intense summer heat is expected to be exacerbated over the coming decades by global warming.
“Spain's nine million children will inherit an uninhabitable country if action is not taken quickly,” is UNICEF's dramatic warning.
It has called for the nation's youngest residents to be the central priority in the Spanish government's future Climate Change Law.
The Spanish UNICEF Committee's managing director Javier Martos and childhood policies leader Maite Pacheco presented the organisation's report, The impact of climate change on childhood in Spain, warning that global warming is 'a growing and unprecedented threat' for youngsters.
“Spain is the most vulnerable country in Europe to global warming, and if the international community does not make real efforts in reducing emissions in the next few years, temperatures will rise by up to 5ºC by the middle of the 21st century,” Sra Pacheco and Sr Martos said.
“If this happens, 80% of mainland Spain and Portugal will be desert.
“The effects of global warming will transform the economy and physionomy of the country, leaving the population open to more freezing cold snaps and heatwaves, extreme temperatures – hot and cold – rising sea levels, lack of drinking water and greater air pollution.”
“We really need to think about what kind of country we're leaving, and want to leave, to our children,” Pacheco concludes.
