PRESS RELEASE
October 17, 2024
Youth Climate Study Indicates Supermajority of Young Americans are Distressed about Climate Change and Want Bolder Action from Government and Corporations
85% report being worried about climate change, with distress running high across political spectrum
NEW YORK, NY October 17, 2024 – A new peer-reviewed academic study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, a leading international scientific journal, has found widespread distress among young Americans about climate change and a strong desire across the political spectrum for governmental and corporate action
“With the release of this nation-wide survey of climate distress in nearly 16,000 US youth, the largest of its kind, we now have data to support what many of us have been seeing with our own eyes: young people in America are struggling emotionally and psychologically with the effects of climate change,” said co-author Lise Van Susteren, M.D., Psychiatrist, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “They are afraid and angry and doubting their future prospects. As we decry the mental health crisis in America’s youth, and search for answers to address it, this survey helps to spotlight climate change as a significant source of distress. These findings show that elected officials, health care professionals, faith leaders, teachers and parents all have a role to play in responding.”
October 17, 2024
Youth Climate Study Indicates Supermajority of Young Americans are Distressed about Climate Change and Want Bolder Action from Government and Corporations
85% report being worried about climate change, with distress running high across political spectrum
NEW YORK, NY October 17, 2024 – A new peer-reviewed academic study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, a leading international scientific journal, has found widespread distress among young Americans about climate change and a strong desire across the political spectrum for governmental and corporate action
“With the release of this nation-wide survey of climate distress in nearly 16,000 US youth, the largest of its kind, we now have data to support what many of us have been seeing with our own eyes: young people in America are struggling emotionally and psychologically with the effects of climate change,” said co-author Lise Van Susteren, M.D., Psychiatrist, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “They are afraid and angry and doubting their future prospects. As we decry the mental health crisis in America’s youth, and search for answers to address it, this survey helps to spotlight climate change as a significant source of distress. These findings show that elected officials, health care professionals, faith leaders, teachers and parents all have a role to play in responding.”