The campaigners, all winners of national competitions, wanted to raise people's awareness of how climate change and other environmental issues are affecting their lives and call for action from political leaders to prevent future catastrophe.

These children called on their countries' delegates to listen to the views of the children since the children will be facing the consequences of the decisions made during this conference and beyond.

Children's futures are more uncertain than ever before, according to Plan International, a global child-rights organization which operates in some 50 countries throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Their livelihoods and health prospects are threatened and their chances of being involved in conflict over resources are greatly increased, it said.

The four children's visit to the conference was coordinated by Plan International in cooperation with the UK Institute of Development Studies and the National children's Board as part of anew international research program called Children in a Changing Climate (CCC) Program.

According to Plan International, deaths and injuries in disasters caused by extreme and erratic weather are forecast to double in the next 25 years. The majority of the victims will be women and children.

The UN conference is tasked with setting up a "roadmap" for negotiations on a new climate deal before the current phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.