Child Development at the Frontlines of Climate Change: A Commentary

Abstract

Climate change affects people of all ages, but today’s young generations will bear disproportionate long-term burdens. Children worldwide face risks to their health, well-being, and family life, yet they also play an active role in shaping responses to climate change. These circumstances highlight the urgency of understanding how climate change shapes child development and engagement. The articles in this special issue bring diverse perspectives (e.g. health, social, educational), use diverse methods (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, review), and include children of different ages across different parts of the world (e.g. Colombia, Iceland, United States). They examine how climate change affects children and their families, how children engage in climate-relevant moral reasoning and experience connections with the natural environment, and how communication and education strategies can strengthen children’s climate knowledge and action. Together, this research raises key questions for developmental science, which I outline here along with a research agenda. As this special issue illustrates, the emerging field of climate change and child development is well positioned to advance understanding of how children worldwide respond to climate change, and how we can support them in meeting its challenges.