Spotlight on the Global Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction Thematic Fund 2024

1. UNICEF’s Global Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction Thematic Fund: Building a resilient future for children

The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our time, and its impacts are hitting children hardest. From rising temperatures and toxic air to floods, droughts and displacement, climate and environmental threats are placing children’s health, learning and safety at increasing risk. More than 1 billion children are already exposed to extreme climate hazards. The need for action is urgent. Yet investment remains dangerously low.

UNICEF is working to change this – not just through programmes, but by transforming the systems that shape children’s lives. The Global Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED) Thematic Fund is UNICEF’s most strategic vehicle for advancing climate resilience and environmental sustainability at scale. This is not just a financing mechanism. It is a catalyst for systemic change. Unlike highly earmarked and short-term funds, flexible funding allows UNICEF to align with national priorities, plan for the long term and reach children who are too often left behind.

Rooted in equity, resilience and partnership, the Global CEED Thematic Fund reflects a simple but urgent truth: establishing climate-resilient services and protecting children from climate and environmental hazards is essential to the well-being and future of every child.