CRC/C/GC/26 an extra burden on children and increase their vulnerability to gender-based violence, child marriage, female genital mutilation, child labour, abduction, trafficking, displacement, sexual violence and exploitation and recruitment into criminal, armed and/or violent extremist groups. Children must be protected from all forms of physical and psychological violence and from exposure to violence, such as domestic violence or violence inflicted on animals. 36. Investment in children’s services can considerably reduce the overall environmental risks faced by children worldwide. States should adopt cross-sectoral measures to address the drivers of violence against children linked to environmental degradation. H. Right to the highest attainable standard of health (art. 24) 37. The right to health includes the enjoyment of a variety of facilities, goods, services and conditions that are necessary for the realization of the highest attainable standard of health, including a healthy environment. This right is dependent on and is indispensable to the enjoyment of many other rights under the Convention. 38. Environmental pollution is a major threat to children’s health, as explicitly recognized in article 24 (2) (c) of the Convention. However, in many countries, pollution is often overlooked and its impact underestimated. Lack of potable water, inadequate sanitation and household air pollution pose serious threats to children’s health. Pollution associated with past and present industrial activities, including exposure to toxic substances and hazardous waste, presents more complex threats to health, often resulting in effects long after exposure. 39. Climate change, biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems are obstacles to the realization of children’s right to health. These environmental factors often interact, exacerbating existing health disparities. For example, rising temperatures caused by climate change increase the risk of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases and concentrations of air pollutants that stunt brain and lung development and exacerbate respiratory conditions. Climate change, pollution and toxic substances all represent key drivers of the alarming loss in biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems on which human health depends. Specific effects include reductions in microbial diversity, which is critical to the development of children’s immune systems, and the increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases, with long-term effects. 40. Air and water pollution, exposure to toxic substances, including chemical fertilizers, soil and land degradation and other types of environmental harm increase child mortality, especially among children under 5 years of age, and contribute to the prevalence of disease, impaired brain development and subsequent cognitive deficits. The effects of climate change, including water scarcity, food insecurity, vector-borne and waterborne diseases, the intensification of air pollution and physical trauma linked to both sudden- and slow-onset events, are disproportionately borne by children.9 41. Another concern is children’s current and anticipated psychosocial and mental health conditions caused by environmental harm, including climate change-related events. The clear emerging link between environmental harm and children’s mental health, such as depression and eco-anxiety, requires pressing attention, both in terms of response and prevention programmes, by public health and education authorities. 42. States should integrate measures to address environmental health concerns relevant to children into their national plans, policies and strategies relating to both health and the environment. Legislative, regulatory and institutional frameworks, including regulations dealing with the business sector, should effectively protect children’s environmental health where they live, study, play and work. Environmental health standards should be consistent with the best available science and all relevant international guidelines, such as those established by the World Health Organization, and be strictly enforced. The obligations of 9 GE.23-11144 For example, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Sixth Assessment Report, Summary for Policymakers, figure SPM.1, The data show the disproportionate, cumulative and long-term effects of climate change on people born in 2020. 7