• Usually between age 15 and 24, but may be younger
• Dedicated to mitigating impacts of the climate crisis through volunteering and/or education

• Youth climate action has been taking place around the world since the 1980s. Social media is a relatively new tool in youth climate activism to spread awareness of actions and globalize efforts. 
• At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Brazil, 12-year-old Severn Cullis-Suzuki delivered a speech about environmental issues. The speech became very popular on the internet and was a turning point in youth climate activism. 
• In 2009, 100,000 people, including youth, marched in Copenhagen, Denmark to protest the United Nations Climate Change Conference. 
• In the mid-2010s, youth activists protested against the building of harmful crude oil pipelines in Canada and the United States. Indigenous youth activists took the lead on action through social media and direct action like protests and occupying construction sites.
• In 2018, the Fridays for Future movement led by Greta Thunberg became the first widely recognized global youth climate movement. The movement is youth-led and -organized, using school strikes to pressure policymakers to take action against climate change. 

Examples:

Youth climate action comes in many different forms. Protests, lawsuits, coalitions, speeches, community building, and more have been used to further climate change goals among youth. 

• Lighthiser v. Trump, filed May 2025, is a youth climate lawsuit with 22 plaintiffs aged seven to 25. These youth are suing Trump over executive orders that will make climate change worse. 
• The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) is a youth-run organization that hopes to mobilize more youth in fighting climate change. 
• A 2021 school-wide event in Phu Quoc city, Vietnam included participation from 1600 students and teachers in learning about recycling and the harms of single-use plastics. The event led to a commitment to reduce plastic in other schools in Vietnam.
• A youth-led climate project in Cameroon aims to help young people become involved in environmental protection through a digital app.

• Exposure to heat can impact adolescents’ ability to regulate mood and tolerate stress.
• Food insecurity can threaten critical physical growth and brain development during this stage of life. 
• Health issues from exposure to air pollution or poor water quality can interact with mental health. 
• Extreme weather events can lead to displacement and interrupt education which can lead to feelings of hopelessness about the future. 
• Awareness about the severity and urgency of the climate crisis contributes to feelings of climate anxiety, grief, and fear. 

Feelings of instability for the future and recognizing large-scale injustice lead to higher risks of mental illness in adolescents. Social and economic factors increase risk of mental health impacts of climate change among adolescents. Groups at higher risk include indigenous youth, low-income adolescents, those exposed to violence, and racial and ethnic minority adolescents. 

Climate activism can impact youth mental health in many different ways. Participation can be a way to cope with climate anxiety and feel empowered. However, the heightened awareness of climate change science and policies among youth activists can lead to more anxiety and feelings of hopelessness. 

• Empowerment: Taking action can combat feelings of hopelessness and guilt and increase feelings of control. Taking climate action is associated with greater youth self-efficacy, or belief in one’s own ability to reach a goal. Youth can make a personal difference in an issue they are passionate about. 
• Learning opportunity: Activism provides an opportunity for youth to learn about communication, planning, leadership, and enacting change. Youth can also learn problem-solving and emotional management skills. 
• Resiliency: Focusing on local climate activism is a way to manage expectations and personal stress among youth activists. 
• Connection: Participation in youth climate activism connects like-minded youth and grows community. These social connections can soothe anxiety and hopelessness because youth know they are not alone in the fight against climate change. 

• Climate anxiety and guilt: Many youth activists are anxious about the current and future impacts of climate change and feel guilty for not doing enough to fight it.
  • Anger: Some youth activists feel ignored or tokenized by political leaders, leading to feelings of anger. 
  • Hopelessness: Youth activists may battle feelings of hopelessness and defeat after attempts to make changes through activism. 
• Burnout: Some youth feel burnout from both physical climate action and the mental burden of understanding the urgency of the climate crisis. Climate activism can also interrupt other important parts of life such as school and sleep. 
• Facing lack of representation: World leaders and politicians are largely male, educated in Western countries, and middle- or upper-class. This differs from the diverse population of youth climate activists. Activists from the Global South are often excluded from international climate conferences. Confronting both the lack of representation and power imbalance through activism may contribute to feelings of hopelessness. 
• Impact of losses: Climate activism losses can be deeply frustrating and discouraging for youth and even lead to complete withdrawal from the climate movement.

• Indigenous experiences: In many Indigenous cultures, both personal and cultural identities are deeply intertwined with the natural environment. Youth with this background may experience unique grief related to livelihood and cultural losses and greater mental health threats. 
• Early life experiences and community support: For many youth climate activists, economic background and support from adults plays a role in activism access. If a youth activists’ parents or caregivers do not have the time, resources, or understanding to provide support, participation in activism can be very difficult. 
• International considerations: Youth from many different countries and cultures around the world participate in climate activism. Different government systems can influence what climate activism looks like, especially in places without democracy. Climate change impacts like lack of running water and food scarcity are priorities for some activists, while others have never experienced this. Youth climate activists may have different goals or worries depending on the specific impacts in their communities. Also, some countries don’t have mental health support in place for activists, which may lead to worse mental health impacts. 
• Racial inequities: Youth activists of color may face racism in their activism and within the climate change space while disproportionately experiencing climate change impacts, contributing to burnout. Additionally, some types of activism can lead to encounters with police or counter-protestors which can be especially dangerous for activists from racially minoritized groups. 

While there is a small body of research about youth climate activism and mental health, research on climate activism, youth activism, and youth climate mental health can help us understand the intersection of youth climate activism and mental health. 

• The “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate Children and Youth Report 2023” from the American Psychological Association (APA) reports that taking climate action increases emotional regulation, efficacy, and optimism while reducing climate anxiety’s contribution to more serious mental health issues for young people. The report also states that youth climate activism can increase resilience through increased sense of control, practicing decision-making, and social connections. 

• A survey of youth participants in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Advocacy Institute revealed that youth report more benefits of their activism than costs, and belonging to an activist community significantly protects mental health. Youth respondents primarily cited burnout as a main cost of activism, resulting from backlash to efforts, pressure for future generations, and slow change. 

• A study from Portugal, “Prioritising communities: barriers to climate activism and political imagination among minoritised youth groups”, emphasizes the need for more research regarding youth climate activists from minority groups. Researchers found that there are many structural barriers limiting the agency of minority activists, that schools can play an important role in preparing young activists for engagement, and that learning about intersectionality in climate change can empower and encourage young activists. 

• “Children, Adolescents, and Youth Pioneering a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change” from the Health and Human Rights Journal discusses the mission of youth climate activists and their importance and challenges in the climate movement. Many youth-led climate movements are centered around human rights, justice, and building organizing and communication skills. However, youth climate activists are frequently undervalued and excluded by policy makers and climate events. Still, youth climate activists use their platforms to advocate for equity in the climate movement.

For youth climate activists: 

• Speak with climate activist peers, trusted adults, and mental health professionals about how you are feeling. 
• Utilize mental health resources in your school or community. 
• Visit youth support spaces and practice affirming your emotions. 
• Spend time in nature and do things that bring joy and relaxation. 
• Engage in self-care by practicing mindfulness and taking breaks from reading the news and social media. 
• Protect your physical health by prioritizing sleep, good nutrition, and exercise.
• It is okay to take a step back from participating in activism every once in a while to rest and restore.

For adults:

• Provide a space for youth activists to share their feelings and experiences. Understand and validate their concerns and feelings. 
• In an age-appropriate manner, teach children about climate change, support taking action, and help grow resilience and hope. 
• Aid in structural support for youth, including funding, organizational development, networking, and skills training to improve the structural power of youth-led movements.
• Build intergenerational support systems through mentorship and knowledge sharing with younger activists. 
• Encourage opportunities for spending time in and learning about the natural environment. 
• Model adult climate action and show youth that they are not alone in caring about climate change.

Youth climate organizations to explore: 

• https://350.org/
• https://citizensclimatelobby.org/ 
• https://climategen.org/ 
• https://www.theclimateinitiative.org/
• https://www.forceofnature.xyz/
• https://fridaysforfuture.org/
• https://futurecoalition.org/ 
• https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/ 
• https://www.powershift.org/ 
• https://reearthin.org/ 
• https://www.rewiringamerica.org/
• https://schoolsforclimateaction.weebly.com/
• https://s4ca.org/ 
• https://www.sunrisemovement.org/
• https://thirdact.org/
• https://www.youthvsapocalypse.org/
• https://www.unesco.org/en/youth/climate-action-network 
• https://www.wy4cj.org/
• https://climatechangeresources.org/youth/organizations-kids/ 

• Indigenous youth plaintiffs in Hawaii won a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii, forcing the Hawaii Department of Transportation to work more aggressively towards full decarbonization. Many similar cases are underway in the United States and globally. 
• The Climate Action and Advocacy Club engages low-income students in Pakistan in climate education, leadership, and community-based action. 
• For the first time in 2022, young people’s importance in the climate change movement was recognized at the United Nations Climate Change Conference through participation in networking, negotiations, and discussions with key players from around the world.

Activism Can Be Good for Teens– If They Receive Support and Guidance, published in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Injury Research and Prevention on May 3, 2018 by Patty Huang. 

Affirmations for Climate Emotions, published in Climate Mental Health Network. 

Celebrating COP27 wins for young people, published in undp.org on January 25, 2023 by Ulrika Modéer, Veronica Winja Otieno, Giulia Jacovella, and Sarah Oey. 

Climate Action and Advocacy Club, published in teachersfortheplanet.org. 

Climate anxiety and climate activism: Two sides of the same coin for today’s youth?, published in eyeonglobalhealth.com on February 24, 2024 by Emma Tkach. 

Climate Change Resource Center, published in American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in May 2025. 

How Gen Z are taking on eco-anxiety, published in climateandhealthalliance.org by the Global Climate and Health Alliance. 

Impacts of climate change threaten children’s mental health starting before birth, published in American Psychological Association on October 11, 2023. 

Launch of 35 Youth-Led Projects on Climate Action published in ymca.int on March 25, 2021.  

Mapping the Global Youth Climate Movement: Towards a Green Economic Mandate, published in Green Economy Coalition in February 2023 by Noah Herfort, Jack Johnson, Callum Macintyre, and Seb Borne. 

Meet the 13 Youth Climate Activists Challenging a Pipeline, published in patagonia.com on October 15, 2019 by Lisset Fun. 

Notes from Copenhagen: 100,000 March for Climate Action, published in audubon.org on December 12, 2009 by Aaron Lake Smith. 

We are the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, published in aycc.org. 

What We Do: , published in fridaysforfuture.org. 

Youth Activists 15 Years Later, published in climateone.org on August 4, 2023 by Alec Loorz, Victoria Loorz, and Slater Jewell-Kemker. 

Youth activists win ‘unprecedented’ climate settlement in Hawaii, published in The Guardian on June 20, 2024 by Dharna Noor and Lois Beckett.  

Youth Climate Activists Sue Trump Administration Over Executive Orders, published in The New York Times on May 29, 2025 by Karen Zraick. 

Youth Perspectives on Climate Change and Mental Health, published in American Psychiatric Association on January 21, 2025. 

Youth Support Space, published in climatepsychologyalliance.org. 

Ocean – Extracurricular activity in Phu Quoc, a project to reduce ocean plastic pollution in schools in Vietnam. 

Clayton, S., & Parnes, M. F. (2025). Anxiety and activism in response to climate change. Current opinion in psychology, 62, 101996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.101996

Clayton, S., Manning, C. M., Hill, A.N., & Speiser, M. (2023). Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Children and Youth Report 2023. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/10/mental-health-youth-report-2023.pdf

Conner, J. O., Greytak, E., Evich, C. D., & Wray-Lake, L. (2023). Burnout and Belonging: How the Costs and Benefits of Youth Activism Affect Youth Health and Wellbeing. Youth, 3(1), 127-145. https://doi.org/10.3390/youth3010009

Gasparri, G., Omrani, O. E., Hinton, R., Imbago, D., Lakhani, H., Mohan, A., Yeung, W., & Bustreo, F. (2021). Children, Adolescents, and Youth Pioneering a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change. Health and human rights, 23(2), 95–108. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8694303/

Gilley, B. (2012). Authoritarian environmentalism and China’s response to climate change. Environmental Politics, 21(2), 287–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2012.651904

Godden, N. J., Farrant, B. M., Yallup Farrant, J., Heyink, E., Carot Collins, E., Burgemeister, B., Tabeshfar, M., Barrow, J., West, M., Kieft, J., Rothwell, M., Leviston, Z., Bailey, S., Blaise, M., & Cooper, T. (2021). Climate change, activism, and supporting the mental health of children and young people: Perspectives from Western Australia. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 57(11), 1759–1764. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.15649

Proulx, K., Daelmans, B., Baltag, V., & Banati, P. (2024). Climate change impacts on child and adolescent health and well-being: A narrative review. Journal of global health, 14, 04061. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.14.04061

Rebelo, D., Garcia, A. D., Santos, T. R., Carvalho, A., Malafaia, C., & Fernandes-Jesus, M. (2024). Prioritising communities: barriers to climate activism and political imagination among minoritised youth groups. Journal of Youth Studies, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2024.2419928

Published: September 13, 2025

Author: Jane Fortna, Yale School of Public Health

Editor: Colleen Rollins, PhD