Not a moment to wait: Climate action, young children and the hope for change
By Joan Lombardi and Estelle Berger
From heat waves to hurricanes and unsafe air, the devastating effects of climate change have become all too common. But the realities of what climate change and environmental damage mean for young children and those who care for them are often hidden from view.
Every day we hear about pregnant mothers suffering in the heat and parents and child care providers trying to find shade for children or asking basic questions about when to keep children inside during air quality alerts. Yet the impact of a changing climate on children is often seen as tomorrow’s issue rather than a reality to address today.
We must face the facts and bring more people together to work for change. There is hope in action.
A report by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Change and Children’s Health and Well-Being in the United States, highlights the many ways that children are affected by the changing climate. The report explores five climate-related environmental hazards associated with children’s health and well-being: extreme heat, poor air quality, changes in seasonality, flooding, and different types of infectious diseases. Each of these hazards can affect health, learning and behavior. The developing child is particularly vulnerable to climate related stressors.
Parents of young children are concerned. Throughout 2022, the RAPID household survey collected responses from over 1,000 families in the US with children under 6 to better understand their experiences with extreme weather and environmental degradation, as well as their ability to access nature and be outside. 78% of caregivers reported that they are worried about climate change and the effects it may have on their children.
The good news is that awareness of climate and environmental issues is growing, and more and more people are getting involved in making change. With such awareness and action, hope grows.
From parents to youth to municipal leaders to federal policymakers, people are taking action. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, became effective on January 1, 2023, making it the largest piece of legislation to drive the transition to a clean energy economy and support programs that promote environmental justice.
As we see in the RAPID data, low-income communities are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events, pollution, and environmental degradation; families living below 200% of the federal poverty line were more likely to express environmental concerns in comparison to families with higher incomes. Through the IRA, the Environmental Protection Agency is working to improve neighborhoods across the United States by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in under-served settings and providing grants to communities that wish to develop climate resilience and adaptation plans. Also on the federal level, the EPA recently announced a $58 million grant to reduce lead in the water at schools and child care facilities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will allow this funding to be made accessible to States, Territories, and Tribes through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN). This action promises to further mitigate the harms of environmental injustice in this country.
State and local government as well as civic and business groups are all essential for making change happen. Every community benefits from having a climate action plan that is sensitive to the needs of children, a plan that both prepares for and responds to climate and local environmental issues. The early childhood community can be a supporting partner in the development of such plans in both rural and urban areas.
Houston, Texas offers one example of how cities are thinking about children as they make plans for responding to and preparing for a changing climate. Built on the City Resilience Framework, Resilient Houston not only addresses the full range of environmental and climate-related concerns affecting the city, but also speaks directly to how children and families need particular support. For example, they highlight how children are at higher risk during heat waves and then provide solutions to ameliorate this threat. Importantly, Houston confronts how hurricanes and other natural disasters can be psychologically traumatizing for children under 5, motivating the city to collaborate with the National Child Traumatic Stress Network to implement age-appropriate interventions to be delivered by child care professionals.
With support from the National League of Cities, the Children & Nature Network is launching Nature Everywhere in 100 communities by 2025, an initiative to financially and strategically help cities create opportunities for children across communities and socioeconomic status to equitably access nature in their neighborhoods.
Everyone has a role, and resources to support action are increasingly available. Providers who serve families every day can help to advance environmental justice as described in the report “We Can’t Be on the Sidelines” published by the American Public Human Services Association. Community health workers, pediatricians and the entire medical community have a growing responsibility to speak out about the impact they are seeing and provide climate-informed primary care. Schools, Head Start, child care, and other early childhood programs play a key part in preparing and responding to emergencies, and creating a new generation that cares for the Earth. Support for teachers and other caregivers are growing through such important initiatives as Planet Ed, Children and the Nature Network, Natural Start Alliance and the Children’s Environmental Health Network.
And, all around the world, we see youth and young adults standing up for a healthier and safer environment. The Climate Initiative is just one of many organizations empowering youth to be agents of change. We see important work being done by Fridays for Future, Roots & Shoots, the Future Coalition, and many more groups. Parents are also taking an active role within their homes as well as through organizations like Parents for Future and Our Kids’ Climate. As children under 6 are still learning to make sense of the world around them, parents are creating opportunities for their family to learn about the environment, connect to nature, and develop a connection to our planet. In response to the RAPID survey, a parent in Virginia wrote: “Because my children are still very young, my biggest focus now has been to help them learn to love our Earth and nature. I feel that if we can help children get out into nature and really fall in love with the world around us, we will be able to raise them to want to find ways to better care for the planet.”
The next few years are critical to assuring reduced carbon emissions and improvements in the environments where children live and grow.
As we continue to raise awareness of the impact of climate on child development and family well-being, the organizations serving children and families, parent and youth voices, and the climate and environmental justice communities need to be partners for change. It is only together that change can happen, and hope can grow. There is so much we can do and not a moment to wait.
Tools for taking action:
Joan Lombardi, PhD is a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education.
Estelle Berger, M.S. is a Graduate Researcher at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, Graduate School of Education.