Feature: Children in climate change, clipper racers' concern

A group of round-the-world sailors dropped anchor at the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao for supplies and to bring a message of social awareness about children.

The Clipper Round The World Race is the longest non-professional boat race in the world. Over its 18-year history, yachts and ocean racers have called at 55 ports worldwide.

This is the sixth time the race fleet has stopped in Qingdao. During their time in the Chinese port city, the UNICEF team were involved in a forum to raise awareness of the impact that climate change will have on our future generations.

"Around the world we know that children often bear the brunt of droughts, floods, heat waves and other severe weather conditions. Such events are putting children at an increased risk of disease and malnutrition," said Rana Flowers, UNICEF China representative.

UNICEF's report on climate change, "Unless we act now -- The impact of climate change on children," shows that 530 million children live in areas where floods are extremely likely to occur, and 160 million in areas where drought severity is high or extremely high.

"We know that if we are to tackle global warming and achieve the vision set out in the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, we need to empower children and young people to be part of the solution," Flowers said. "We need their ideas, creativity and action to inspire and drive how we protect our environment."

It was for this reason that the Clipper Race partnered with UNICEF, to draw attention to how children will be affected by the results of climate change.

"As key stakeholder in this agenda, what we decide to do for children and how we engage them in building the future will ultimately determine whether we are successful in creating a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world," added Flowers.

In China, UNICEF is working with partners including the Climate Change office of the National Development and Reform Commission to engage young people into policy dialog and decision making.

It aims to increase investment in the education and training of children on climate change to empower them as important stakeholders and agents of change.

According to UNICEF, under a business-as-usual scenario, in which the global community takes limited action to reduce emissions, 1.45 billion children would live in zones where the maximum average surface temperature changes by more than 2 degrees Celsius by 2050.

In cold regions, 2 degrees Celsius might be enough to melt glaciers and snowcaps; while in hot regions, it might be enough to evaporate rivers and lakes and stop seeds from germinating.

The UNICEF team experienced the effects of global warming firsthand.

In a race like this, changeable weather is par for the course. However, according to UNICEF team skipper Martin Clough, strong winds continued later than expected on the way to Vietnam, which may be due to the El Nino climate pattern.

"The oceans and the water temperature affect global weather and I read that these temperatures have increased and can create more extreme weather," according to Clough.

William Ward, chief executive of Clipper Ventures, said that the experience left a lasting impression on the teams.

"They leave with a new found respect for nature and the environment," he said.

What we do today will affect the quality of life in the future, Ward said. So we have a responsibility. Whether drought, floods, or other extreme weather, children will always be more vulnerable in these types of natural disasters, he added.

Guo Chuan, the first and only professional offshore sailor in China and also the first Chinese to participate in the race in 2006, said that in the past decade the rapid melting of the ice in the Arctic makes sailing there possible.

"But this is a sign of global warming, which adds new challenges for the environments that humans and animals rely on for survival."

The sailors made the remarks during the forum, "Set Sail for Low Carbon Life," on Wednesday in Qingdao to highlight the importance of protecting environment to reduce global warming. The forum was organized by UNICEF, Clipper Race and the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The tenth Clipper Race, which began in summer 2015, involves 12 yachts with crew from 44 different countries, who have set sail for an over 40,000-nautical-mile, 11-month adventure.

The Qingdao stopover marks the end of Race 8 of the 14-stage global challenge. Starting from March 20 of Race 9, crew will sail over 6000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean to Seattle, which is expected to take 31 days to complete.

The race will finish on July 30 in London. Endi