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People who have come of age in recent decades — millennials and members of Generation Z — have been exposed to a steady stream of alarming news about climate change and ecological destruction. A growing body of evidence indicates that these increasing problems and their failure to be addressed are causing emotional distress.
Among those studying this phenomenon is Britt Wray, 35, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health.Wray co-authored the largest ever survey on climate anxiety among teenagers and young adults. Study of 10-nation countriesPublished in The LancetThe study found that climate change is having a profound effect on young people. She is also the author and editor of the new book. Generation Dread: Finding purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis.
In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Wray explains how climate anxiety is greatest for Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — who have been bombarded with news of climate disasters on social media. They feel betrayed by inaction from the government and dismay when they are told that they are overreacting against what they perceive to be an existential danger. More than half of 16- to 25 year-olds in the surveyed age group are from the LancetSurvey respondents believed humanity is doomed. Nearly 40% said they are afraid of the future and are reluctant to have children.
While Wray views such findings as “incredibly sad,” she believes that distress about climate change can be transformed into a “super-fuel” to generate positive change. “Anger can be hugely motivating,” she says. “When it is based in a real sense of injustice, it shows that your conscience is alive, that your sense of being morally transgressed is intact.”
Yale Environment 360: You claim that climate anxiety is increasing. What evidence is there to support that assertion?
Britt Wray:There has been a Big There has been an uptickA selection of publications about climate and mental health research from the past few years [with several showing climate anxiety is on the rise]. The same thing is happening at the Popular MediaThere are many publications that have covered eco-anxiety.
e360: The global survey of young people that you worked on found that most agreed with the statement “humanity is doomed.”
Wray: It’s incredibly sad to hold that statistic in your heart and realize what it means that so many people are walking around and feeling that way about their own future and the future of the entire human race. It’s shameful that we have left young people with that kind of emotional reality. But I don’t think they’re overreacting. They are seeing things get worse and more difficult. We must look at the failure of our collective efforts in getting our leaders to do something about it.
e360:It seems that younger generations are reacting with more anguish to the situation than the slightly older.
Wray: That’s right. Gen Z feels it the most. Being glued to Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and all the rest, it’s just way more in their face. Millennials’ mental health is very much impacted too. However, we see a significant decrease. [in climate anxiety]As we move up to Gen X, boomers and so forth.
e360:Why is there such a gap between generations who are very close in age?
Wray:As millennials, we have been able to understand the climate crisis for a while now. It was a major cloud in our lives as teens and young adults in our early 20s. We had the privilege of going through earlier developmental stages and not having to think about the climate crisis every day. We also received messages warning us that our future prospects were diminishing.
“Anger can be hugely motivating. When it is based in a real sense of injustice, it shows that your conscience is alive.”
The younger ones don’t have that luxury. They are watching the lack of appropriate action. This is reinforced by the things they see on social media and through conversations with their friends. For some, that’s coming in before they have had a chance to figure out important aspects of their identity. They can’t just enjoy being a young person and getting through childhood in an easeful way without existential pressure and thinking about huge societal problems.
e360: You write that it would be wrong to pathologize young people’s climate anxiety.
Wray:Grief is a result of deep feelings of compassion. These emotions are a sign of our connection to things that are beyond ourselves — to other species, wild places, generations yet unborn, and to the vulnerable communities that will be impacted the worst. It’s actually a very good thing.
Our 10-country study has shown us that [young people’s]Their feeling of being betrayed and lied to is a key factor in their distress. Young people feel that older people have left the building, that they’ve checked out: “We’re handing you this impossible situation, and it’s up to you to clean it up. I’m not going to be around to see the worst of it. You need to deal with it.” This kind of response on the part of older people is distressing to hear.
Psychologist Sally Weintrobe writes about the “culture of uncare,” a culture that allows people to detach from taking responsibility, a culture where we are more concerned with our Amazon orders than with protecting life on Earth.
During a strike for a better youth climate, demonstrators in Nantes, France.
Sebastien Salom Gomis / AFP via Getty Images
e360: Many young people feel enraged by this sense of betrayal, but you argue that’s not always a bad thing.
Wray:Anger can be very motivating. Anger that is rooted in real injustice can be very motivating. It shows that your conscience is still alive and that you don’t feel morally violated. It can give rise to a deep well of strength that allows you to act. These emotions should be allowed to flow. On the other hand, we shouldn’t block out the positive. We also need hope to focus our eyes on what we’re working for, what the solutions are.
I write about how the brain overreacts to negative emotions. It can lead to fatalism or nihilism, the belief that it’s too late to make a meaningful difference: Why would I study for a job that I won’t be able to enjoy? Why would I save money for a future that won’t be there for me? These thoughts are extremely harmful.
e360: Many young people say they don’t want to have children because of the climate crisis.
Wray:In 2017, my husband and I began talking about the topic. It didn’t feel like an easy decision at all because of my climate awareness. The fertility option is only available for a few more years before it closes. The timeline that we’re dealing with for preventing catastrophic climate change, according to the UN, roughly aligns with my biological clock. So should I wait the 12 years required to reduce our emissions half-way before I make the final decision?
It’s a dilemma — having a kid and being crushed by anxiety about that kid’s well-being, or not having a kid and basically aligning yourself with the idea that the world is not worth bringing people into anymore, which is a very dark place to be. I had a boy, and eventually I did have one. After four years’ of moral agony, I finally made the decision.
“The pain of all the wonderful things that we are losing is causing people to wake up and focus on the things that matter.”
e360:What finally got you to the finish line?
Wray:It felt like having children was a commitment to joy, despite the difficulties. There’s no question that having a child cements you deeply to the future. It felt to us that to live a full life, you can’t mute either the joy or the grief. To experience the full human experience, one must have a child.
e360:People believe activism is the best way to combat climate anxiety. If we work to change things, we won’t be so focused on doom and gloom. However, you argue that people can avoid their emotions by seeing action as a solution.
Wray:First, we need to acknowledge that the types of actions needed today to address the climate crisis aren’t just external. It’s not about getting out on the streets and trying to change policies. It’s also working inwardly at the same time to build up the socio-emotional resilience to deal with the emotional harms of the climate crisis. Because when we are just doing the external stuff and avoiding — not even acknowledging — our emotions, we are less equipped to deal with the challenges we know we are going to have to face in an ongoing way for the rest of our lives.
Through my research for this book, I discovered about permission-giving spaces that allow people to talk about emotions. Good Grief Network. It’s actually inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous, because the people who started it had been in the Children of Alcoholics program and found it transformational.
We would meet every week for a few hours and go through the theme of the week. Acceptance of the severity is the first theme. It’s really about facing it, getting clear about its implications. The second step is to acknowledge that I am part the problem and work with others to find a way to live with ambivalence. There were steps to do inner work and face the emotional issues that arise. Everyone is allowed to speak and listen to the other.
A flood in Santo Domingo during tropical storm Laura in August 2020.
Erika Santelices / AFP via Getty Images
e360: I’ve talked to climate scientists who say they are getting burned out from dealing with the grim evidence of what is happening.
Wray: Many climate scientists are deeply grieving and anxious. They need support. But they don’t get it because they aren’t given permission in the scientific community. People who are witnessing the degradation of life support systems every day can feel isolated and alienated.
e360: We’ve talked a lot about the negative emotions. You also mentioned that the climate crisis can bring out the best in people.
Wray: Helping someone else, being part of something bigger than yourself, protecting and providing for others — those are the things that make for a life well lived. The climate crisis gives us the opportunity to protect ourselves and others as well as the world. It can make you feel more alive and open up to new possibilities.
I don’t want to minimize the tremendous harm and suffering that [the climate crisis]It is causing. It’s a terrible way for us to wake up. The pain of all the wonderful things we are losing is making people wake up and start to focus on the important things. That can ultimately lead to a more compassionate society. That’s why I speak of all this distress as being a super-fuel to generate positive change.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
