How to Support the Younger Generations Through the Climate Crisis

Ruby Bron & Pranav Jairam

Acknowledgement of Country

About Us

A former student of Santa Sabina College, Ruby is a passionate climate activist who was worked with local councils, School Strike 4 Climate, and most recently the Child Rights International Network. She is passionate about advocating for youth voices within the climate justice movement and is currently studying at UNSW.

Ruby Bron

Pranav Jairam

Currently, a second year student of the University of Sydney, studying a Bachelors of Psychology (Honours). He has worked in numerous NGOs for religious, cultural, social and service initiatives and events. Passionate about social justice issues and reducing human impact on the climate crisis.

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Brief Overview

Intro to the Environmental sciences, Climate Crisis and impacts on young people

Q &A

Actionable steps to Support Young People in the Fight for Climate Justice

Interactive Activities

Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

Steve Biddulph

Steve Biddulph (AM) is a world-renowned parent educator. A retired psychologist of 30 years, he continues to write and teach, authoring books such as The Secret of Happy Children, Raising Boys, The New Manhood, and 10 Things Girls Need Most, which have influenced how we view childhood development and mental health. Voted Australian father of the year in 2001, Steve has since been made a member of the Order of Australia for his work in youth mental health, and remains a patron of the Sanctuary Refugee Trust and Australian Religious Response to Climate Change.

Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

The climate crisis is not a distant threat—it’s happening now. Younger generations are acutely aware of this, as they face the most significant impacts in the coming decades. While youth have taken the lead in calling for change, addressing this crisis requires the collective effort of all generations. Older generations have the experience, resources, and platforms to help shape meaningful change. The question is: How can we join forces to build a sustainable future together?

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Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

• Based on the global average temperature for the most recent 10-year period (2014- 2023), the Earth is now about 1.2°C warmer than it was in the pre-industrial era (1850- 1900). 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global average near-surface temperature 1.45°C above the pre-industrial baseline.
• In 2023, the average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere was 419.3 — the highest in human history and more than 50% higher than pre-industrial levels of CO2.
• As much as 20 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are due to deforestation — exceeding the emissions from all of the passenger vehicles on the planet.

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Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

• Scaling up natural climate solutions, such as restoring degraded forests, could create as many as 20 million new jobs. In total, ecosystem restoration creates 3.7 times as many jobs as oil and gas production per dollar
• 30 percent of the world’s population is exposed to deadly heat waves more than 20 days a year
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which can limit their access to healthy bush foods and disconnect them from Country, which can negatively impact their health and wellbeing. In remote areas of Australia, where there may be inadequate housing and limited energy supply or cooling appliances, increases in temperature will see a rise in heat-related illness as well as the exacerbation of existing medical conditions

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Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

• In a survey conducted for 10-24 year olds in 2023 by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience it was found that:
• More than 80% of participants over the age of 16 indicated that they were concerned or extremely concerned about climate change
• An overwhelming amount of participants thought that Australia was not doing enough to reduce carbon emissions contributing to climate change
• 87% of participants felt that Australian leaders were not listening to young people’s perspectives in Government

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Introduction to Youth and the Climate Justice Movement

• According to a recent report by UNSW:
• International reports have found that 50% of people aged 16-25 felt sad, anxious or powerless about climate change
• More than three in four young Australians are concerned about climate change
• Two-thirds of young Australians believe climate concerns are having a negative impact on youth mental health
• Government inaction was the most frequently identified factor impacting youth mental health
• Eco-anxiety has consistently been reported to be higher in young people

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Eco-Anxiety in Young People

What Is It?

Aspects

Who Does it Affect?

Broadly speaking, eco-anxiety refers to an anxious response to a range of ecological issues, from climate change and pollution, to climate migration and climate justice concerns. When these concerns centre on climate change in particular, it is referred to as 'climate-anxiety'.

Currently, eco-anxiety can be comprised of four different aspects:, Affective symptoms (feeling worried, nervous), Behavioral symptoms, rumination, and personal impact anxiety (focusing on their own role in contributing to environmental issues)

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Younger people are consistently being reported to have high levels of eco-anxiety. Many young people feel they have low political power, yet they know these issues are going to be affecting them in the future. As well as this, young people are also experiencing more financial stress, and there are more cases of individual experience with climate change

Education and Accessibility

• Much of the climate change literature, especially scientific reports and articles, is filled with technical jargon and complex terms that can be difficult for younger people, especially those without a strong background in environmental science, to understand. This can create a disconnect between young people’s interest in climate issues and their ability to fully grasp the scientific nuances.
• Reports like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) often use terms like “anthropogenic forcing,” “carbon sequestration,” or “radiative forcing,” which may not be readily understandable by younger audiences without proper explanation.
• Many young people, especially in developing countries or low-income regions, have limited access to digital tools or the internet, where much of the climate change information is disseminated. This digital divide prevents them from accessing up-to-date resources, research, and climate-related news.

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Education and Accessibility

• Climate change education is not consistently integrated into school curricula worldwide. In many countries, climate change is either not covered at all or is given only a brief mention in subjects like geography or science, without going into depth about the causes, consequences, and solutions. This leads to many young people graduating without a solid understanding of the crisis.
• According to a UNESCO report, only 40% of national curricula across 100 countries include references to climate change, and in many cases, it is not emphasized as a critical issue .
• Mainstream media tends to focus on adult experts, politicians, and scientists, often ignoring young people’s voices or issues that specifically affect them. The framing of climate change issues in media is also often oriented towards older audiences, focusing on economic or policy discussions, which might not resonate with younger viewers. The way in which the media frames its reporting may also be fear-inducing for young people, often with worst case scenarios emphasized.

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Key Takeaways

Mental Health

Statistics show that young people feel increasingly unsupported in the fight for climate justice, feeling that there voices are not heard in climate discussions and they lack support in having these voices amplified

Accessibility

Many young people are increasingly worried about the effects of climate change and the feelings of powerlessness associated with the underrepresentation of young voices in media.

Much of the climate jargon used is not accessible for young people, especially children under 18. This means that young people are often left in the dark when it comes to discussing policy and general climate issues.

Media representations are often not targeted towards young people and can only worsen the feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. Climate education is also not equal across the world and often not prioritised in school syllabus.

Lack of Support

Education and Media

So .. How Can Younger Generations Be Supported In The Climate Justice Movement?

Support, Understanding and Encouragement

• One of the most important things is for young people to feel supported when they are stepping up and taking action
• As previously explored, it can often feel like our voices are not heard, so general support in terms of policies, events and actions can go a long way
• Showing up and/or promoting youth-led climate organisations and events
• Youth-led organisations are one amazing way in which young people can feel supported and enabled to stand up in the fight for climate justice
• By showing up to events and providing support to these organisations, more resources can be provided to young people, gaining even more strength in the climate movement
• As well as this, general understanding of how young people are feeling when it comes to the climate crisis is incredibly helpful in making sure youth do not feel overwhelmed, and helps us feel supported and encouraged.

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Inclusion and Accessibility

• If you are in a position where you are organising events, workshops, actions etc. surrounding the climate crisis, include young people in these conversations!
• Young people can provide insightful and new perspectives on climate justice, and love to be included in the conversation
• Even if there is not capacity to have young people presenting or being involved in the logistics of an event, simply promoting these events and actions to young people is a fantastic action of its own. Including young people in these events helps amplify our voices and unique perspectives on the climate crisis
• Adding on from this, making sure that resources and events are accessible for young people continues to enable the amplification of our voices
• This includes making sure the language being used is understandable by young audiences, and also making sure that youth perspectives are considered when creating these resources
• Whilst this does not mean resources need to be oversimplified, they should be able to be understood by youngest age group possibly accessing them

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Education

• Promoting climate education in school curriculums is one way to help ensure that young people are properly educated on the climate crisis
• This goes hand-in-hand with accessibility, but promoting climate education for young people helps us amplify our voices and gain power in the youth movement
• This also goes two ways!
• It is important to educate yourself about the struggles of young people when fighting for climate justice, and being understanding and supportive of these challenges
• Making sure you keep up-to-date on what issues are facing young people and educating yourself about what events and organisations youth are doing is a fantastic way to stand in solidarity with young voices in the climate movement
• There is a difference between speaking for people, and helping people have their voices
• It is important to help amplify young voices, but this does not mean speaking for young people. In order to truly support youth voices, you must help raise them, not speak over them.
• General encouragement to join together as unified climate movement and encouraging collaboration between older and younger generations

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Q&A

Activities

Accessible Language

"The potential for climate-induced socio-ecological tipping points, characterized by abrupt and irreversible changes in ecosystem services and human livelihoods, is becoming increasingly likely as global warming approaches critical thresholds. These tipping points, including the destabilization of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Amazon rainforest dieback, are driven by nonlinear feedback mechanisms, which could exacerbate both biophysical and socio-economic vulnerabilities."

"There is a critical distinction between climate mitigation finance, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb future warming, and climate adaptation finance, which focuses on building resilience to the impacts of climate change already being felt. Although both are integral to comprehensive climate action, funding for adaptation lags significantly behind mitigation efforts, leaving vulnerable populations inadequately equipped to cope with extreme weather events and sea-level rise."

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"Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) is touted as a critical component in achieving net-zero emissions, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like cement and steel production. However, CCUS remains contentious due to its high capital costs, the limited scalability of current technologies, and concerns about its efficacy as a long-term climate mitigation strategy. Critics argue that an overreliance on CCUS could perpetuate fossil fuel dependency, diverting attention from the imperative of rapid decarbonization and the systemic transformation of energy systems."

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Letter Writing

Suggestions:

• Appreciation of youth-led organisations/events/actions
• Encouragement for continuing the fight for climate justice
• Acknowledging climate science and affirming belief for immediate climate action
• Openness to knowledge and forgoing of extreme scepticism of science.
• Expressing a commitment to stand in solidarity with the youth movement.
• Acknowledging the past environmental impact of past generations
• Offering advice from any previous experience with climate/social justice movements and encouraging collaboration between older and younger generations

Thank You!

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