What do children’s rights have to do with aviation pollution?
Children’s rights and the climate crisis
The Climate and Biodiversity Crisis has been established as a child rights crisis, because it disproportionately threatens the fundamental human rights of children and young people everywhere. UNICEF have advised that more than one billion children worldwide are at high levels of risk of harm due to the climate crisis. Children in Ireland, as elsewhere, face unprecedented threats now and in the coming years due to a failure to act on the climate crisis – increased extreme weather events and flooding, harmful economic impacts, new and increased risks to their physical and mental health.
The State must act to protect children from climate harms
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is a body of experts which oversees the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – an international human rights treaty focused uniquely on children. They have set out clear and comprehensive guidance for governments on how to protect children’s rights within the context of the climate crisis (General Comment no. 26). It also highlights the human rights responsibilities of businesses and private bodies towards children.
Key obligations set out include that:
“States should refrain from taking retrogressive actions that are less protective of children”.
We believe not only failing to decrease international aviation pollution from Ireland, but actively intervening to INCREASE aviation pollution is a patent failure to meet this obligation.
In July 2025, the International Court of Justice gave a historic ruling on States’ climate action obligations, noting especially obligations to children’s rights and inter-generational justice. It was made clear that States must do more to protect children from climate harms, and that they are obliged to ensure children’s rights are protected in the face of the climate crisis.
Have children’s rights been considered in relation to the ‘passenger cap’ and the pollution involved?
No. There is no evidence we are aware of that children’s rights have been considered by airlines or other vested interests, by the Dublin Airport Authority, or by the Government, in relation to efforts to increase polluting flights at Dublin Airport via a lifting of the passenger cap. We are unaware of any child rights due diligence completed, nor any efforts to consider the best interests of children, nor any efforts to hear from child and youth climate advocates, nor any efforts to hear from children in communities impacted by Dublin Airport pollution.
CROF have repeatedly highlighted children’s rights as requiring due attention and consideration within national coverage, planning considerations, and communications by relevant semi-state bodies who have been campaigning for a lifting of the cap. We have highlighted to the Minister for Transport, the State’s child rights obligations in the context of the climate crisis, as well as ensuring he is aware of the multiple and increasing climate harms children in Ireland are facing.
Where can I learn more about children’s rights and climate change?
The ICJ Advisory Opinion: A Historical Moment for the Climate and Children’s Rights (Youth Climate Justice blog, UCC, August 2025)
Link to the General Comment no. 26 from UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Children’s Rights and the Climate Crisis in Ireland (UNICEF report 2023)
Children's Rights Over Flights 