“Not about us without us” – the feelings and hopes of climate-concerned young people around the world

Abstract

The feelings and hopes of young people around the world are often neglected in policymaking and research, with consequences for both their wellbeing and the effectiveness of humanity’s response to the climate crisis. Many of them are distressed by climate change’s impacts, the inaction of political and corporate leaders, the ways other people respond to their feelings, and the lack of support they have to share their feelings or get involved in meaningful climate-related work. This paper is written by a group of twenty-three concerned young people from fifteen countries. It provides a first-hand account of our deepest feelings, how these feelings affect our daily lives, the support we want to help us cope, and our hopes for a radically more compassionate future. The results are particularly relevant to policymakers, mental health professionals, journalists, educators, and people working with young people more widely.

Keywords:

• Climate crisis
• climate inaction
• youth mental health
• eco-anxiety
• hopes for the future

Acknowledgements

This paper would not have been possible without the support of various people and partners; Gareth Morgan and others gave us the idea to produce this paper; Professor Azeem Majeed helped us to secure funding for the project; Force of Nature, SustyVibes and other youth organizations helped recruit young people across the world; and Dr Mala Rao, Richard Powell, and Dr Neil Jennings oversaw the wider Special Issue in which this has been published.

Author contributions

The authors contributed to various stages of the project. Twenty-three young authors from fifteen countries were involved (JD, SW, JU, SM, AO, DOJ, LHA, TS, PRM, HA, HR, KVA, JC, AS, KM, JK, NGM, LI, MB, TH, AW, AMRU and a young person from Vietnam who preferred to stay anonymous). Two authors (NGL and JK) have strong family ties to countries they no longer live in (Egypt and Poland). Three of the authors led the project (JD, SW and JU) with the support of a more experienced researcher (EL).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This report was in part supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health Research or the Department of Health and Social Care. The Lenore England Innovation Fund also supported EL’s time on this project.