Adolescent well-being and the climate crisis

Overview

The devastating impacts of the climate crisis are threatening global health in ways that are far greater than once feared.  Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, being at a critical point of their life-course in their own biological, emotional and social development, and due to the fact that they face the burden of worsening adverse impacts of climate change throughout their lifetime. The climate crisis negatively impacts all aspects of adolescent well-being, with the already marginalized and most vulnerable adolescents – such as Indigenous adolescents, refugees, adolescents with disabilities or chronic disease, and adolescents marginalized due to race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status – at greatest risk. It affects their physical well-being through increased risk of injury, lung disease, infectious disease and poor nutrition. It can disrupt their connectedness to family, friends and community through its effect on forced migration. The climate crisis also disrupts adolescents’ safe and supportive environments through its effects on interpersonal and collective conflict and further research is necessary on effective interventions to protect adolescent well-being in climate-related humanitarian settings. Education and employment opportunities for adolescents are also impacted by climate-related extreme weather events and the effect of climate change and its response on agriculture and forestry, tourism and other climate-vulnerable sectors. Furthermore, exposure to extreme and slow-onset events impact adolescents’ psychological well-being and the overwhelming and existential threat of the climate crisis causes feelings of disempowerment, impacting adolescents’ agency, purpose, and resilience.