
Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows. Climate change can affect learning, physical health and housing security, which can last throughout the child’s life, according to the report. “Understanding health risks to children is critical for developing effective and equitable strategies that will protect our current and future generations,” EPA administrator Michael Regan, said in an agency news release. “Today’s report will help further efforts being taken by the Biden administration across the federal government to address the climate crisis and advance environmental justice.” The report, released Tuesday, looks at health effects associated with extreme heat, air quality, changing seasons, flooding and infectious diseases. The analysis also considers the extent that these health effects may disproportionately impact children who are Black, Indigenous and people of color, low income, without health insurance and/or have limited English proficiency. “EPA’s new report offers a clear, compelling overview of how climate change impacts our children’s health. Its findings underscore the necessity of considering children’s well-being in every climate policy — and the moral urgency of taking effective action to stop climate pollution on behalf of younger and future generations,” Moms Clean Air Force senior policy analyst Elizabeth Bechard said in the EPA news release. “We know that children are especially vulnerable to nearly all of… read on > read on >