Climate education strengthened teens’ climate capability while also increasing eco-anxietyAddressing the climate crisis may rely on building “climate capability” among youth. Climate capability refers to the extent to which individuals possess the skills, knowledge, and motivation to modify their behavior to lower their personal impact on climate change. Climate capability also includes recognizing the importance of collective efforts and governance to reduce the impacts of climate change. Eco-anxiety, or climate anxiety, is a related concept described as both a personal and collective emotional response, influenced by perceived environmental threats, uncertain futures, and inadequate systemic responses. Although eco-anxiety can be overwhelming, it may also motivate environmental action when young people have opportunities to learn about climate change and develop the knowledge, skills, and agency needed to act meaningfully. This study is the first randomized controlled trial to examine how a climate education intervention impacted adolescents’ climate capability and eco-anxiety. The study is based on the understanding that enhancing climate capability among young people can build resilience and agency, transforming eco-anxiety from a source of disempowerment into a catalyst for climate action.
Transition-year students (age 15–16) attending an all-female secondary school in Ireland were invited to participate in the study. Eighty-six students who agreed to participate completed an online survey that included the Climate Capability Scale and the Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale. The Climate Capability Scale measured awareness of climate change and its impacts, motivation and willingness to reduce individual contributions to climate change, and recognition of the importance of governance and systemic change in addressing climate change. The Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale evaluated four dimensions of eco-anxiety: affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, and anxiety about one’s negative impact on the planet. After completing the survey, students were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Students in the intervention group received weekly AI-generated climate education and action messages for four weeks. At the end of the four weeks, the intervention group participated in a half-day field trip that included climate education, forest bathing, river restoration, and tree planting. Students in the control group continued their standard curriculum. After completion of the intervention, the same online survey was used to collect follow-up data from all students. Completed surveys were obtained from 83 students (43 in the intervention and 40 in the control group). Eight students, four from the control group and four from the intervention group, also participated in focus group interviews to further explore their sense of climate capability and eco-anxiety. Survey data were statistically analyzed to compare changes in climate capability and eco-anxiety scores from baseline to follow-up between the intervention and control groups. The analysis also examined the relationship between climate capability and eco-anxiety. Focus group interview data were thematically analyzed by the research team, which included two teenage co-investigators.
Baseline climate capability and eco-anxiety scores did not differ significantly between the groups. Compared with baseline, the intervention group demonstrated significant increases in both climate capability and eco-anxiety scores at follow-up. A statistically significant relationship was also observed between climate capability and eco-anxiety, in that increased climate capability was linked to increased eco-anxiety. Regarding the eco-anxiety subscales, there was evidence of a significant intervention effect on the affective, rumination, and personal impact subscores, with each showing greater increases in the intervention group. However, the behavioral subscore did not significantly change among the intervention group. Focus group interviews highlighted three interrelated themes: powerlessness, responsibility, and capability and hope. Students described a sense of powerlessness in response to the enormity and complexity of the climate and ecological crisis. They expressed a lack of agency, noting that they felt unable to meaningfully address climate change on their own. Students also expressed frustration about being expected to take responsibility for addressing a crisis they did not create. Despite these concerns, students in the intervention group developed a greater awareness of how they could contribute to addressing climate change and the importance of taking action. Findings within the final theme revealed how the intervention also fostered a renewed sense of hope, accompanied by a developing sense of self-efficacy and capability.
Results of the study suggest that climate education interventions can help adolescents develop the capacity and capability to contribute to environmental change. Interestingly, eco-anxiety increased alongside climate capability, indicating a “complex and potentially adaptive relationship between eco-anxiety and climate capability.” This finding aligns with previous research reporting that eco-anxiety can serve as a constructive emotional response that motivates environmental action. Focus group discussions similarly suggested that a sense of climate capability corresponded with a developing sense of agency and hope. These findings support developing school curricula for climate education and engagement to help young people become climate-capable citizens. Research should continue to explore the relationship between climate capability and eco-anxiety in children and adolescents to better understand how to encourage engagement in climate action.
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