What a world to be born into!

A monstrous, dark cloud of smog oozes out of a factory and mercilessly forces elephants, giraffes and other wildlife off the fertile land that was their home.

Meanwhile, in the Arctic, a family of polar bears weep at being stranded on the last remaining block of ice as the world around them melts away.

The world itself, afflicted by global warming, has fever and does not have the energy to keep on spinning.

And in a desperate bid to save the planet, children climb on to ladders floating in space with buckets in hand, to wipe off the grit and grime that has cast a dark shadow over the once beautiful blue marble.

These vivid images are among those depicted in 28 paintings by children from all over the world, aged between 11 and 15, who drew out their fears for a planet facing potentially catastrophic climate change.

The paintings are exhibited at St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Valletta, until Saturday and form part of the United Nation's Paint for the Planet exhibition launched in New York last October.

It was brought to Malta by the Resources Ministry, as part of the Kids' Eco Summit organised last Saturday, which formed part of the public consultation process on climate change and waste strategy.

Although 28 paintings have been brought to Malta, the exhibition in New York featured 50 paintings that, over the past two decades, had ranked in the winning positions during the UN Environment Programme's International Children's Painting Competition.

Two years ago, the painting by 15-year-old Maltese Andrew Bartolo placed third among 14,000 entries. Last October it was chosen as one of the works to be exhibited and auctioned at the UN's Paint for the Planet event at its headquarters in New York.

The $21,000 collected during the auction went towards Unicef's emergency relief for children affected by climate-related disasters.

Andrew's painting - which was sold and is therefore not in the exhibition - depicted a bunch of penguins on what appears to be a desert island.

Their familiar territory has melted away, forcing them to migrate from their home.

One penguin has also melted into a black smudge; the other is living in an open fridge; another is sheltering under an umbrella and the other is swimming to keep cool - all as a result of global warming.

"I learnt that everything you do, no matter how small, can make a difference... I would have never thought that my paining would take me to New York to meet so many important people," Andrew said.

Speaking during a visit to the exhibition, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said he agreed with Andrew's message and everyone had a small part to play in saving the world for future generations.

The minister was accompanied by students from St Joseph's School in Paola who handed him a report on climate change.

They will be using the report to help elderly people in Paola understand what climate change is all about.