Climate Anxiety Is Changing How Young People of Color Think About Having Kids

The weather has been wild lately. Wildfires out West, hurricanes in the South, flooding everywhere, temperature swings that break records every year. As climate patterns get more unpredictable, more young people are asking themselves: "Is this the world I want to bring children into?"

Despite politicians brushing off climate concerns as "deranged," the data tells a different story. More than 1 in 4 Americans say environmental worries factor into their hesitation about having kids. And it's actually millennials and Gen-Zers of color who are expressing the most climate anxiety about fertility decisions.

How Climate Change Impacts Fertility Decisions for Young People of Color

Dr. Jade Sasser, a professor at UC-Riverside and author of "Climate Anxiety and the Kid Question," studied how environmental concerns affect fertility decisions among young people of color. Her research reveals some important patterns.

"Climate change is shifting how young people feel about the future," Dr. Sasser explains. "A lot of Gen-Zers are worried about the future. They're worried about whether they will be healthy whether the planet as we know it will exist the same way that it does today. They're worried about how climate change will completely alter life on Earth. And because they are worried and afraid about that, they feel like it's unethical to have kids."

The challenge is that most of these young people haven't reached typical childbearing age yet - people usually have their first child around age 27. "But we know their values are changing and the way they talk to each other about it is changing. For a lot of Gen Zers, the question of 'should I have kids or not' is becoming more of 'I don't think I will because of climate change.'"

The Mental Health Impact on Communities of Color

Young people of color face additional layers of climate anxiety that affect their fertility decisions.

"Young people of color are feeling that they can't, shouldn't, or won't have kids because of climate change because they feel so deeply traumatized, overwhelmed, and unsupported," Dr. Sasser found. "Both in terms of the ability to make a good life for themselves, to have what they need financially, but also because they feel that their mental health is unstable."

All of the people she interviewed mentioned experiences with anxiety or depression at some point. They worry about their ability to properly raise children without passing on trauma. "They looked at and spoke about older generations that did not focus appropriately on their own mental health and the way that older people have continued to traumatize and retraumatize their children and play out generational harm. They don't wanna repeat that."

"And so all of these existing preexisting concerns, concerns about racism, concerns about finances, concerns about mental health instability, those feel overwhelming, climate change on top of that feels insurmountable."

How Race and Gender Shape Climate Anxiety

Dr. Sasser's research found clear patterns in how different groups respond to climate concerns about parenthood.

"White men were the most likely to say that they had absolutely no feelings whatsoever about climate change or about parenting in the midst of climate change. I think that reflects, white men specifically, a sense that this is not something that would directly, or negatively impact their own lives. Which is not the case for white women, many of whom reported feeling sad, angry, depressed, and guilty. But the emotion that was mostly or most closely associated with race for people of color was feeling traumatized."

Why Climate Change Hits Communities of Color Harder

The impact isn't just psychological - climate change disproportionately affects communities of color in real, measurable ways.

"Let's say there's a whole area in which a big hurricane has moved through, and all of the neighborhoods in a region have been impacted. And, there's been destruction of people's homes. Climate justice scholarship has shown that those black and brown communities are going to get less of their recovery and relief resources. And then, it's gonna take a lot longer for them to get the resources that they do receive."

Beyond recovery issues, there are ongoing environmental disparities: "if you look at the heat measures of some of these formerly redlined communities, their temperature can be at least 10 degrees hotter than suburban communities that have not been redlined. So the actual impacts of climate change are quite different on communities of color. And surveys have shown that black and brown people are aware of that and are concerned because we understand that climate change is another way in which inequality lands on our communities."

The Dating and Social Pressure Aspect

Climate anxiety is changing social dynamics around dating and family planning in ways Dr. Sasser didn't expect.

"Young people are talking about climate change in their dating conversations and on first dates, and are, are standing up boldly and saying, if you want kids, we, I don't wanna go out with you anymore. That was a big surprise."

"And the other surprise was the negative peer pressure around wanting children. I did not anticipate that there were any people I would interview who would say that in their friend group saying, I want kids would [be met] with a negative response."

There's a divide between college-educated and non-college-educated people in how they process climate information. Those who've taken environmental studies classes and read projection reports "have a different approach to the future because they understand that these impacts are going to continue and they're going to get worse."

Will This Actually Change Birth Rates?

Dr. Sasser predicts real changes ahead, particularly for Gen Z. "Not from millennials. I mean, the oldest millennials are over 40. But I would say with Gen Z. Yes. And it's not just because of climate change. Gen Z, you know, they have different values about kids. I was quite shocked when I heard from interviewees that in some circles, when you say you want kids, the reaction is, Ew."

She's seeing shifts toward alternative family structures: "Younger people are talking a lot more about fostering and adopting as attractive options. I think there has been a growth of a really positive mentality about being child-free. Child-free is not seen as this sad or pathetic state that is out of your control. Rather, being child-free is being presented in many ways as a really attractive option that allows you to travel, experience the world, get education, and focus on a career."

"A lot of Gen Zs, don't have this linear idea in mind of, I have to finish school and find a partner, get married, have a house, and have children. Their options are different in part because that linear path isn't working out for young people financially."

Responding to Critics

When asked about critics who dismiss climate-related fertility concerns, Dr. Sasser points to systemic failures: "The oil and gas companies and politicians have created a situation in which young people have to have these concerns and make these decisions. So I want to say it is a bad thing, but it's not because of individual young people. It's because this is the economic system and society that we are living in. I would say our society is failing young people, and that's the problem. More to your specific question, I think the problem comes in when young people don't feel that they can have the families that they want."

Political Changes and Long-term Impact

Dr. Sasser doesn't think political shifts will significantly change these concerns: "I don't think that that has a long-term impact on these questions. I think the real questions that are consistent and will be sustained are the financial questions, the questions about racism and racial injustice that are ongoing in the United States."

She shares an example: "My best friend who is a black woman and her husband also black, they have two children. They just moved out of the United States a few months ago. They said, 'we don't wanna raise black kids here. We don't want our children to grow up doing active shooter trainings in their elementary schools. So we're leaving, so they moved to Portugal, and that was specifically about raising black children.'"

"I think that the political polarization piece is like, it's like a concern, but the deeper concerns are financial, racism, mental health, and then climate change feels like this compounding weight on top of those things, but a compounding weight that continues to get worse. We see worse impacts every year."

Real Stories of Change

Dr. Sasser followed up with some participants to see how their feelings evolved. "One of the people I interviewed did have a baby. She had always said throughout her interviews that she wanted kids. She was very clear on that. She just felt like she needed to boost and strengthen her mental health before doing so. So she has had a child and, and none of her climate anxiety went away. In fact, it has intensified. But she was always clear she was going to have a child and she was gonna have to figure out the climate anxiety piece along the way."

Another became a stepparent unexpectedly: "she became unexpectedly became a stepparent. That was not her intention, but, you know, she got into a relationship with a man who had a, a young child. And his custody situation changed, and suddenly she found herself step-parenting. And for her, the experience of step-parenting and also, you know, of her concerns about climate change changed her in the direction of saying she definitely does not ever want to give birth to her own biological child because she sees how difficult it is to raise and parent a child and try to, you know, do so sustainably."

Looking Forward

Dr. Sasser's outlook has shifted since writing her book: "I was a little more optimistic when I wrote the book. I don't know if I'm optimistic or not, but I am happy to be in community with other people who are dedicated to working together to fight climate change and not let people go through this alone. I would say I'm optimistic about the way different networks are coming together to build strong communities. I'm not optimistic about any of our elected officials or any oil or gas companies doing the right thing."

The reality is that climate anxiety about fertility decisions is real, particularly for young people of color who face both environmental and social vulnerabilities. Whether this leads to significantly lower birth rates remains to be seen, but it's already changing how a generation thinks about family, future, and what it means to bring children into an uncertain world.

For support navigating fertility decisions and climate anxiety as a person of color, visit Oshun Griot.