Children worldwide 'most concerned about pollution'

While our ancestors spent a lot of time inadvertently damaging the environment, it seems the next generation are determined to sort out the planet.

The kids that came before them may have been scared of ghosts, ghouls and monsters under the bed, but one of the biggest concerns of this generation is a very real worry - pollution.

A global poll of more than 6,000 children in 47 different countries revealed that the growing threat of pollution is the biggest ecological concern for over a quarter of children.

This was despite the fact that almost one in three ten to 12-year-olds had experienced natural disasters including drought, flood or fires. However, 20 per cent of children did name natural disasters as their biggest environmental concern.

What's more, there was found to be a difference between developing and developed countries.

In the industrialised world, one in three children said children said pollution was their top concern, and 16 per cent even singled out global warming.

The number of children most concerned about pollution in the developing world, however, was significantly lower, with just 26 per cent naming this their top concern.

Meanwhile, 23 per cent of kids in these countries cited natural disasters as the environmental thing they were most worried about.

Children in Africa and Asia said that natural disasters were their number one fear. Twenty six and 27 per cent of children respectively named these their biggest concern. 

Meanwhile, over in the Americas, pollution was the main concern by far, with 43 per cent of people selecting this.

Deforestation came next for youngsters on this continent, with 16 per cent of children in Latin, South America and the Caribbean worrying over this hot topic.

Anne Lynam Goddard, president and chief executive of ChildFund Internation, commented: “Although often overlooked and discounted, theirs are important voices, including their telling perspectives on the myriad threats to our environment.

"Children in developing countries, in particular, have a front-row seat to environmental devastation, devastation that is often compounded within the world’s poorest nations."