Led by Elizabeth Hodson, the Cost of Inaction study aimed to increase the visibility of the cost of slow and rapid onset events linked to climate change, and to quantify this cost to the extent possible in terms of child development and reduced economic growth. This work was won through a long-term arrangement of services in Public Financing for Children (PF4C) between Mokoro and UNICEF.

The report found that Mozambique’s children are disproportionately affected by climate change, bearing the brunt of the burden across different sectors, with often life-long consequences. Cost of inaction on children include decreased access to basic services, increased malnutrition, increased disease burden, decreased education leading to decreased human capital, and increased poverty and child-protection issues. All these issues are exacerbated if the child is living in poverty – the case for the majority of Mozambique’s children.

The research calculated select financial losses due to climate change inaction, utilising results from a survey of climate-affected households in Mozambique. However, it noted that the true cost of climate change inaction on children in Mozambique is hidden: data gaps leave the financial cost underestimated at a national and global level, while the socio-economic costs borne by children are rarely measured. This report represented a step towards addressing this structural information deficit.

The report intends to inform Government policies and priorities and also contribute to UNICEF’s advocacy work on climate change in Mozambique and internationally.