Summary

Climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is a present reality, and children are among those most at risk of long-lasting harm. But the U.S. public doesn’t tend to make this connection. To mitigate the effects of climate change on children, we need to shift how people think.

This brief, produced in partnership with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and Harvard Chan C-CHANGE, highlights five key findings from new research on how people currently think—or don’t think—about the connections between climate change and early childhood development. It also provides a snapshot of emerging recommendations for communicating this relationship to help build greater public understanding.