Poor birth outcomes, including premature birth and low birth weight, are among the consequences of air pollution and the changing climate that are impacting lower income families to a greater extent than more advantaged households.
Mental health problems including depression, greater risk of disease and lower academic performance are other challenges young people in deprived areas face due to the changing climate to a greater extent than their peers, the research found.
It also found that greater exposure to air pollution and toxic chemicals, by having less access to green spaces and living in poor quality housing, means disadvantaged young people are “less likely to bounce back easily after extreme weather”.
Young people from minoritised communities and with disabilities “are disproportionately represented in low-income households and will therefore be more affected”, added the research, which has been published by think tank New Philanthropy Capital.
NPC says that disadvantaged young people “have the most to gain” from green policies to improve housing, air quality, public transport and access to green spaces.
It found that the policies with the greatest impact on young people include schemes to improve insulation in homes, which will reduce energy bills for families. Low emission zones to ban polluting cars from city centres is another that will benefit young people in low-income households.
NPC is calling on charities and funders to “move beyond greening their operations” and ensure their strategies focus on how they can tackle the impact of climate change on young people. This should ensure their mission and programmes are making “the greatest impact” on improving the lives of young people amid the climate crisis.
🔔 NEW REPORT: How is environmental change affecting young people growing up in the UK?
— NPC (@NPCthinks) May 11, 2023
Today we're launching the first of three briefings on how environmental change affects different groups of people. #EveryonesEnvironment
Find out more 👇 https://t.co/qzKbWc71V8 pic.twitter.com/XxarYqzAFz
“Transitioning to a post-carbon and nature friendly economy offers a new opportunity for funders and charities to address longstanding inequalities,” states the think tank’s policy paper How will the climate and nature crises impact young people?
“We can build a fairer society where we heal the damage done to our environment and strengthen our communities in the process; where charities and funders empower different social groups to shape society’s response to the environmental crises; and where together we find solutions that improve life for all sections of society whilst protecting and restoring our environment.”
NPC also found that young people born in 2020 will face twice as many wildfires and almost three times as many droughts, crop failures, river floods as those born in 1960. They will also face almost seven times as many heatwaves.
Across the UK, almost all councils are reporting at least one climate change hazard in their area, including extreme heat and flooding.
