‘(They) make choices about the future’

For many involved in the fight against the changing climate, it is difficult to gauge what the average person outside of those efforts knows about the state of the climate, or to guess how much they care. But a new one study published in Lancet Planetary Health sheds light on what the youth think.

They are concerned.

This is specific study – led by researchers from the NYU School of Medicine, College of Wooster (Ohio), Stanford University, Utah State University, University of Washington, George Washington University and others – collected answers about climate from nearly 16,000 American participants aged 16 to 25 years in all 50 states. It is the largest study of its kind conducted, following one first international survey in 2021.

What has emerged from this research is a stunning consensus that bridges the political divide.

A full 85% of young people surveyed – 96% of Democrats, 74% of Republicans and 86% independent or otherwise – say they are concerned about “the impact of climate change on people and the planet,” said the press release about these findings. In no state or cluster of states did that number fall below 75%.

These are not idle concerns either: 38% of respondents express “their feelings climate change affect their ability to function on a daily basis,” 69% say their climate concerns are a factor in where they choose to live, and 52% see it as a factor in whether they will have children. The responses were stronger in areas affected by more species of cancer extreme weather conditions.

“The findings from this study confirm what I often hear from young people in my role as a doctor, researcher and educator: young people are concerned about climate change, disappointed with government actions to date and making choices about the future that due to the expected climate impacts,” said co-author McKenna Parnes, PhD, in the press release.

Lead author Eric Lewandowski, PhD, and co-author Lise Van Susteren, MD, echoed that perspective in an interview with The Cool Down.

“Lise and I are both clinicians, and I think that’s where our roots in this work come from,” Lewandowski told The Cool Down.

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“Being in the trenches with children, we knew that young people were suffering,” Van Susteren added.

For Van Susteren, the younger generation’s perspective on the changing climate only makes sense.

“As a young person, you are the one who ultimately has to pay the piper, so it is in your best interest not to remain in denial,” she said. “And besides, it’s an era that questions adults; that’s the terrain.”

According to Lewandowski and Van Susteren, young people do not want to hide from the facts about what the world is facing. There is indeed a great need to talk about it.

“Young people want the opportunity to talk about this,” Lewandowski said. “More than 70% of respondents said they want the dangers to be talked about, they want other people to talk about how they feel about climate change, and they want older generations to try to understand how they feel.”

“This comes up against accusations that we ‘scare people’ and that as professionals we are not allowed to talk about this so openly,” says Van Susteren. “The reality is that young people really want us to talk about it, and are even angry and upset when we don’t.”

As this research shows, America’s youth also have a clear idea of ​​what should happen next. According to the press release, a whopping 77% want US and world governments to create a plan to halt the changing climate, and a similar number want businesses and the education system to do the same.

“But also,” Lewandowski said, “they refer to all kinds of people: families, professionals, faith leaders, mental health professionals — everyone here has a stake in this.”

Until that kind of coordinated change can happen, Lewandowski advised young people struggling with climate anxiety talk about it and take action where possible. Van Susteren agreed.

“In my work with young people, they sometimes don’t want to talk about it, because they don’t want to make their friends sad or angry,” says Van Susteren. “This tells them that most likely 85% are likely to feel the way they do, and that they can find comfort and solidarity with their peers.”

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