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LONDON – A global study has found that young people suffer from “deep psychological distress” due to climate change and government inaction on the crisis.
45% of the 10,000 young people surveyed in 10 countries for the study, published on Tuesday, said anxiety and distress over the climate crisis affected their daily lives and ability to function.
Three-quarters of 16- to 25-year-old respondents felt the “future is scary,” while 64% of young people said governments were not doing enough to prevent a climate crisis.
In fact, nearly two-thirds of young people felt betrayed by governments and 61% said governments did not protect them, neither the planet nor future generations.
The study, which was said to be the first large-scale research of its kind, was led by academics from the University of Bath in the UK and the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, among others. It is under peer review in The Lancet Planetary Health magazine.
“These high levels of anxiety, functional impact, and feelings of betrayal will inevitably affect the mental health of children and youth,” the study authors warned.
They added that while climate anxiety may not constitute a mental illness in itself, “the realities of climate change along with government failures in acting are chronically stressful, long-term and potentially unavoidable; conditions in which problems mental health will get worse. ”
Caroline Hickman, a researcher at the University of Bath Climate Psychology Alliance and co-author of the study, said anxiety among children was a “completely rational reaction given the inadequate responses to climate change they see from governments.”
In addition, Liz Marks, a tenured professor at the University of Bath and another lead co-author of the study, said it was “shocking to hear how so many young people around the world feel betrayed by those who are supposed to to protect . ”
“Now is the time to face the truth, listen to young people and take urgent action against climate change,” he added.
Young people from countries in the southern world expressed more concern about the climate crisis, with 92% in the Philippines describing the future as “terrifying”. However, 81% of young people surveyed in Portugal also expressed this level of concern, the highest rate among the northern countries in the world included in the study. Portugal has experienced an increase in forest fires in recent years amid higher temperatures.
Separately, data released in late August by British market research company Ipsos Mori found that public concern about climate change and pollution had reached record levels. This was based on a study of more than 1,000 adults in the UK, which found that 38% of people over the age of 55 were likely to raise environmental concerns, compared to 24% of Britons aged 18 to 34.