Audience: Youth

A broad majority young Americans understand anthropogenic climate change, but many are struggling to identify individual practices they can take to improve global sustainability, according to a survey of 15-25 year olds on climate change, environmental justice, and related public policy initiatives.

38% call climate change a crisis, 31% say it’s a problem, 12% a concern, 9% a non-issue, and 8% label it fiction.
While 44% of young Americans are either “very” (21%) or “somewhat” (23%) optimistic the world will successfully address climate change, 47% are either “somewhat” (12%) or “very” (25%) pessimistic
Respodents expressed a strong desire to do their part in mitigating climate change, but many were unsure how:
27% of respondents say they have reduced their usage of single-use plastics, 14% take alternate transportation, and 12% have curtailed electrical use. Another 14% have participated in a march or protest, and 10% have volunteered to create change. 67% have shared climate information on social media. (89% report they get the majority of their news from social media.)
67% of respondents report they do not believe U.S. residents are equally protected against exposure to pollution and other ecological hazards and 37% characterize environmental justice in the U.S. as “extremely inequitable.”
The survey also found significant support for many of President Biden’s environmental actions.

The psychological factors most predictive of young people (age 16-25) participating in climate protests in Germany were personal connections and values. Specifically, the three factors were 1) perceiving friends participating in the movement, 2) identification with others engaging in climate protection, and 3) personal norms in the form of an obligation based on pro-environmental values. The protests were organized specifically by Fridays for Future. These young respondents also generally reported high levels—but less than the primary predictive factors—of “collective efficacy”, thinking climate change is a serious problem, and personal rage about government policy failure, but notably low perception of their parents participating in pro-environmental activism.