Prelims

Half Title Page

CHILDREN AND THE CLIMATE MIGRATION CRISIS

Endorsement Page

Praise for Children and the Climate Migration Crisis

This is an absolute must read for anyone concerned about the climate crisis and its effects on children’s lives. Not only does it provide the information and resources desperately needed by those supporting children in forced climate migration situations, it serves as a critical call to action for building better approaches to climate resilience and education in emergencies.

Diane Whitehead, CEO of Childhood Education International

Through this book, [Cardarelli and Pomper] explore the pressing issue of how climate crises affect children. By combining contextual information, real-life examples, and the intersection of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and trauma-sensitive strategies, the book emphasizes the importance of climate education. The authors emphasize the need for active participation and policy development to protect children’s well-being in the face of climate-related challenges.

Sandy ElChaar, Psychologist

[This] book is a critical call to action for all stakeholders, especially policy makers, to address fundamental gaps in climate action. The trauma of forced migration and displacement of children, families, and communities can destroy life and entire societies. It is prudent for policy makers, decision-makers, and global citizens to care and learn about the social and emotional learning and mental and physical wellbeing of humans impacted by climate change through the valuable lessons shared in this book.

Tonja Eagan, CEO of Kappa Delta Pi

Detachment is said to be essential to scholarship, but there are subjects where research and the framing of possibilities are enhanced by unhidden emotional involvement and unconcealed anger. This is a volume that vindicates that truth. As it attests, the trauma of children forced to migrate because of climate can no longer be destroyed. But it can be minimized, through actions that are realistic leading to solutions that are enduring. Like the rosebud slowly emerging from a thicket of thorns, it offers a hope that can be realized.

Ramu Damodaran, First Chief of the United Nations Academic Impact

Children are our future. Everything happening to our world today impacts their lives tomorrow – and today. Children are also some of the most vulnerable, and with growing climate change forcing people from their homes – whether due to drought, floods, rising sea levels, or collapsing food availability – the children did not create this, and we who did have a moral obligation to support them. They could be the inventors and entrepreneurs who create change and stabilise our world. But to do so they need support and education now. This book offers a roadmap for how we can – and must – offer today’s children the support and education they require for the world they are inheriting.

Robin Millington, CEO of Planet Tracker

Title Page

CHILDREN AND THE CLIMATE MIGRATION CRISIS

A Casebook for Global Climate Action in Practice and Policy

By

Rose Cardarelli

Education for All Coalition, USA

and

Harley Pomper

University of Chicago, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Rose Cardarelli and Harley Pomper.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: www.copyright.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80455-913-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-910-9 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-912-3 (Epub)

Contents

About the Authors

Rose Cardarelli is the Founder and CEO of the Education for All Coalition, an international NGO supporting refugee education worldwide. A former senior military commander, healthcare executive, and professor of human security, she is a recognized expert in strategy, global education, and sustainable development. Dr Cardarelli serves as an NGO Representative to the UN and the UNHCR, the Rotary International Representative to UNICEF, and a SEL Representative to UNESCO.

Harley Pomper is an M.A. Student in Anthropology and Franklin Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, USA, working to empower access to education for underserved, disabled, and incarcerated students. From climate resilience curriculum to trauma-responsive training for educators, Pomper is devoted to creating equitable, just, and compassionate learning environments rooted in community care.

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to all the displaced people around the world who suffer today because of traumatic climate events and deserve the return of security and wellbeing to be able to reach their full potential for the betterment of humankind.

We extend our sincere thanks to the entire team at the Education for All Coalition (EFAC) for their support in helping refugee and migrant children around the world and for their thoughtful contributions to this work. We are also grateful to those who work in other humanitarian aid organizations, small and large, who share our common goal.

Thank you to my parents, Erika and David, my brother, Zach, and my partner, Manu, for their unyielding care – Harley Pomper.

Thank you to my supportive husband, John, who listened often and helped me to understand the challenges of humanitarian service in a geopolitical world – Rose Cardarelli.