In the fight against climate change, collaboration and connection are essential. Around the world, people across generations are coming together to address the shared threat of a warming planet. While the climate crisis affects everyone, its impacts and timeline will be felt differently across generations. Younger and future generations, who will live the longest or be born into the consequences of today’s decisions, bear the greatest burden.
The mental and physical health toll of climate change on young people has been clearly demonstrated through multiple national and international surveys. In fact, a recent survey of nearly 16,000 adolescents and young adults across the United States found that 85% of young people reported feeling worried about the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. More than 60% of young people said climate change makes them feel negative emotions, including anxious, powerless, afraid, sad, and angry. Nearly 75% expressed a desire to talk with others about climate change, and close to two thirds of young people wanted their emotions to be understood by their parents’ and grandparents’ generations. It is therefore not surprising that youth feel a heightened urgency to demand bold action.
Youth-led climate movements have been on the rise since 2018 and have captured global attention. With powerful voices, bold strategies, and unwavering determination, young people have significantly increased public awareness of the climate crisis, directly shaped climate policy, and highlighted the generational stakes of climate inaction to spur intergenerational solidarity.
Holding the reality that the climate crisis is too urgent and complex for any single generation to tackle alone, parents and caregivers have taken on a unique position within the intergenerational climate movement. In a powerful brief communication in Nature’s new open-access journal Climate Action, Romina Rodela writes about the rise of parent-led climate movements. Rodela discusses the “moral imperative to care for future generations” with caregivers standing at the intersection of generational responsibility and action. Climate Action Families was featured among organizations which offer leadership and capacity building trainings, and emotional support programming. Central to the mission of CAF is the role of caregivers in leveraging their life experiences and networks to amplify and center youth-led efforts.
In the climate movement, adult caregivers are challenged to balance the complex role of protector, advocate, and ally, navigating the tension between leading and listening. Young people and adults bring with them different expertise that when shared can have transformative effects. Youth are experts of the future – they offer innovative ideas, fresh perspectives, and are energized to find creative climate solutions. Adults are experts of the past – they have wisdom rooted in previous experience, can help youth navigate complex systems, and hold deep knowledge of the history of the climate movement. CAF has done an incredible job of integrating these perspectives, centering adults as pivotal partners in the climate movement to create space for youth voices to lead.
As we work towards building a sustainable future, we must cultivate a culture of care where relationships are nurtured between individuals, generations, and the planet. Importantly, this responsibility is not just for caregivers, but for all adults, and particularly those who play a role as socializing agents for youth, including teachers, mentors, community leaders, clinical providers, and even policymakers. With young people on the frontlines of the climate crisis, adults have a responsibility to support, educate, and empower youth to take climate action, and partner with youth to drive decisions that will affect their lives and the lives of future generations.
Importantly, in conversations with young people, I am hearing increasing frustration with an emphasis on channeling anxiety into action. This idea gained traction after the publication of a study from 2022 with students across the United States. The results showed that engaging in collective climate action had a protective effect in reducing the consequences of climate change anxiety on symptoms of major depression. This finding has since been featured broadly, for example in the Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories documentary, as well as publications focused on climate change and mental health.
As a clinical psychologist, I can understand the benefits collective action both through a behavioral lens (i.e., people can feel better by engaging in meaningful and values-aligned activities), as well as through theories of social support (i.e., supportive relationships can promote resilience in the face of stress and adversity). However, often left out of narratives encouraging action is the vital importance of emotional processing. Adults can play a critical role in modeling for young people how to come together in community, take a breath, and feel our feelings. CAF is already one step ahead in this domain, offering regular events that vary in focus, from providing youth-led climate justice trainings, to holding space for adults and kids to share emotions, to hosting events that offer opportunities for silliness, creativity, and connection.
Climate action is not just a technical or political challenge – it is an ethical call for people to care. It demands collective accountability, empathy, and a shared commitment to safeguarding the planet for current and future generations. It requires an environment that leaves room for grief and joy, worry and hope, overwhelm and motivation. And when adults show up in the climate movement, this is a true demonstration of care.
McKenna Parnes, PhD, is an investigator in the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington. She has a PhD in clinical psychology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in integrated behavioral health. McKenna has a personal and professional passion for climate and environmental justice. Her research focuses on understanding the intersections between child and adolescent mental health and climate change, with consideration of the ethical responsibility society holds in protecting and promoting the health and well-being of younger and future generations amid the climate crisis. She is particularly interested in how digital tools and social media can be leveraged to reduce disparities among youth who experience the greatest climate-related health burdens. Central to her work is the importance of community connection and social support to foster resilience in the face of adversity and stress. Outside of work, she loves running by the water, baking for friends, and engaging in local mutual aid and climate advocacy efforts in Washington.
