Children, Adolescents and Climate Change: The case for urgent action

Posted on: 10 June 2024

By Dr Kristin Hadfield, Dr Alina Paula Cosma, Tooba Nadeem Akhtar*  

The evidence is clear: children and adolescents worldwide are disproportionately affected by climate change. They not only face direct exposure to extreme weather events but also comprise the demographic that will experience the most significant impact of climate change within their lifetime.  

While this is relevant for young people worldwide, this impact is particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where inadequate infrastructure, limited support services, relief delays, and disruptions to essential systems like nutrition and care heighten their vulnerability. 

Young children are the most vulnerable and most dependent on consistent and nurturing care and the climate-related shocks during early childhood threaten stability and future development.  

Additionally, we have the largest population of adolescents with over 75% of them living in LMICs. Adolescents, undergoing rapid development, face heightened vulnerability to climate change's physical, psychological, and social impacts, compounded by limited resources and longterm consequences. There is a large data gap in how climate change impacts child and adolescent mental health.  

We argue that young children start being vulnerable even before birth, with risks of developmental disadvantages in utero. These vulnerabilities may also manifest in early childhood due to critical developmental periods, traumatic experiences, and disruptions to supportive caregiving environments. Collectively, these experiences have critical implications for their long-term mental health and wellbeing.  

At Trinity Centre for Global Health, our research team recently conducted a systematic review of psychosocial interventions for young children in post-natural hazard LMIC settings.  

Our alarming findings show that:  

• There is no representation in humanitarian/disaster evidence of young children in post-extreme weather event settings when the risk of harm is most pronounced or pervasive,
• Despite clear evidence on the critical importance of early childhood to lifespan development, disaster interventions and programming consistently overlook this vulnerable group, leaving at least 250 million children under five years in LMICs at risk.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to address this systemic neglect and prioritise research and action in this area (LMIC, early childhood & post-natural hazard). Interventions that aim to protect and/or promote child development, mental health, and wellbeing in the aftermath of extreme climatic events must be developed and tested.  

Theoretical recognition must translate into practical implementation to yield tangible and impactful outcomes for the largest proportion of vulnerable young children. Additionally, our research suggests that children and adolescents’ mental health and well-being are profoundly affected by their awareness of the imminent threats posed by climate change. While most studies on this topic originate from high-income countries, they consistently highlight prevalent anxiety and worry among young populations regarding climate change. 

 It is therefore crucial to support children and adolescents experiencing negative impacts on their mental well-being due to climate change awareness and experience of extreme climate change events, and to empower health practitioners, schools, parents, guardians, and communities in providing this support. As researchers in psychology and global health, we call for policies and interventions that address the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents in relation to their experience of climate change, with a focus on the aftermath of climate disasters in LMICs.  

By addressing this gap, we can make significant strides toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 13. We implore the United Nations to heed this call for action. Policymakers can no longer afford to overlook the plight of the most vulnerable among us. Climate change solutions must consider children and adolescents.  

The time to act is now, and through more research and advocacy, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of children and adolescents affected by the adverse effects of climate change. 

• This letter was originally submitted to the chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation, United Nations Climate Change Secretariat. 
• Authors are:
• Dr Kristin Hadfield Ph.D. Psychology (Trinity College Dublin) Assistant Professor & Acting Director of the Trinity Centre for Global Health School of Psychology & Trinity Centre for Global Health Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin Dublin, Ireland.  
• Dr Alina Paula Cosma Ph.D. Psychology (Babes Bolyai University) Assistant Professor & Research Fellow, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions School of Psychology & Department of Sociology Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin Dublin, Ireland.  
•  Tooba Nadeem Akhtar MSc Child and Adolescent Mental Health (University College London) Ph.D. Student-Researcher School of Psychology & Trinity Centre for Global Health Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin Dublin, Ireland. akhtart@tcd.ie 
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• Tags:
• Environment