Children and Climate Change

Abstract

The existential threat posed by climate change presents a challenge to all those concerned about the next generation. This Element reviews and discusses its implications for the development of children (ages 0-12) today and in the future, and for the parents, teachers, researchers, and professionals who have responsibility for children. This Element adopts a bioecological model to examine both the direct impacts on children's physical and psychological well-being as well as indirect impacts through all the systems external to the child, emphasizing the greater vulnerability of children in the Global South. Given evidence of well-founded climate anxiety, this Element examines children's coping strategies and discusses the key roles of caregivers and schools in protecting and preparing children to face current and future challenges – with knowledge, hope, and agency as central themes. This Element highlights many under-researched areas and calls for action by all those caring for and about children's future.

Climate change and resilience: Developmental science perspectives

“…The effects of climate change are becoming ever more evident, amplifying the frequency and intensity of acute disasters such as floods and wildfires, while also causing longer-term damage in the form of droughts, desertification, and rising sea levels. However, due to interactions across all levels of human ecology, the effects of climate change have dynamic repercussions across regional, national, community, family, and individual systems (Evans, 2019;Sanson, Malca, Van Hoorn, & Burke, 2022). The direct consequences of climate disasters for physical health, including deaths and injuries, diseases, respiratory conditions, and malnutrition, are now well-documented (Watts et al, 2021).…”

“…Multiple studies show that increasing temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns are associated with increases in violence and conflict between individuals, groups, and nation-states (Hsiang et al, 2013). In the aftermath of disasters, community violence and domestic violence can increase, and some parents turn to more punitive parenting practices (Molyneaux et al, 2019;Sanson, Malca, Van Hoorn, & Burke, 2022).…”

“…The term "eco-anxiety" has been coined to describe these reactions. However, this label ignores the wide array of reported emotional reactions to climate change besides anxiety, and can have the connotation that such feelings are unfounded, when they may more accurately be viewed as rational, albeit distressing, reactions (Sanson, Malca, Van Hoorn, & Burke, 2022)-a better label may be "climate distress. "…”

Implications of climatic change on sickle cell anemia: A review

“…Additionally, healthcare systems and providers must adapt to the evolving needs of SCA patients as climate change continues to impact health outcomes worldwide. [29]…”

Resilience in development: Pathways to multisystem integration

“…The twentieth century has brought a rising tide of disasters threatening life as we know it around the worldincluding terror attacks, ethnic/tribal conflicts, and war; a global pandemic, famine, financial calamities, and natural disasterscreating unprecedented numbers of displaced people and bringing a frightening reality to looming consequences of climate change. These threats vary in many ways, but they are all multisystemic in nature, requiring multisystem, coordinated responses to prevent massive casualties or harm to human well-being and future development (Masten, 2021;Sanson et al, 2022;Ungar, 2021). In these turbulent and ominous times, it is not surprising to observe a surge of interest in the concept of resilience across many disciplines and sectors concerned with health and well-being in human lives and the ecologies that support human development, as well as all other living things that human lives depend upon (Cinner & Barnes, 2019;Folke et al, 2021;Masten et al, 2021;National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021).…”