A survey of 1,607 teenagers aged 14 to 19 in England has found that concern about climate change, feelings about its effects and access to climate education differ by gender and socioeconomic background. The findings also point to a gap between young people’s interest in learning about climate change and their confidence about environmental careers.
Fifty-nine per cent of girls surveyed said they worried “a lot” or “all the time” about what the world would be like in the future because of climate change. Girls were also more likely than boys to report difficult emotions in response to the issue: sadness was reported by 87 per cent of girls and 71 per cent of boys; anxiety by 73 and 52 per cent; anger by 66 and 49 per cent; fear by 59 and 39 per cent; and helplessness by 67 and 46 per cent.
The responses do not mean that all girls feel the same way, or that boys are unconcerned. They describe differences across the groups surveyed. The figures also record young people’s reported feelings, rather than diagnosing a mental-health condition or establishing what caused an individual respondent’s emotions.
Strong demand to learn
Across the survey, 91 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that learning about climate change was important. Agreement was higher among girls than boys, at 94 per cent compared with 88 per cent. A similar difference appeared by socioeconomic background: 95 per cent of the more advantaged teenagers considered learning important, against 80 per cent of their less advantaged peers.
The results suggest that climate education is not simply a question of whether young people want the subject. The survey found that climate change is taught mainly in classrooms, especially in science and geography. Respondents also called for opportunities to connect environmental issues with wider questions, including fairness, social change, technology and decisions about the future. Around half understood how climate change connects with fairness and equality between people, despite broad recognition of its scientific causes.
Ninety-two per cent recognised humans as the main cause of climate change. Yet only 6 per cent said adults were doing enough to look after the environment “a lot” or “all of the time”. That contrast places knowledge alongside a more critical judgement about the response they see from adults; it does not measure the actions of any particular person or institution.
Learning beyond the classroom
Informal sources are part of how teenagers encounter the subject. Nine in ten respondents said they learned about climate and sustainability through social media, online videos or podcasts. The share was 92 per cent among girls and 87 per cent among boys. Family and friends were also a more common source for more advantaged teenagers: 81 per cent reported learning from them, compared with 55 per cent of less advantaged respondents.
Those findings matter because young people’s understanding is shaped across multiple settings, not only by lessons. Classroom teaching can provide structure and help pupils distinguish evidence from opinion, while online material and conversations outside school may expose them to different perspectives. The survey documents where respondents said they learned; it does not assess the accuracy or quality of every source they used.
The transition from education to work is another area where interest and practical knowledge do not always align. Forty-five per cent said they would consider a career that helps the environment, but 39 per cent knew what skills or qualifications such work would require. This points to an opportunity for careers guidance to show how environmental knowledge can be relevant across occupations, rather than only in jobs labelled “green”.
The survey concerns teenagers in England and cannot establish whether the same patterns hold in London or elsewhere in the UK. Nor does a survey alone explain why the reported differences exist. Its value is in setting out a detailed picture of young people’s experiences and highlighting questions for schools, families and policymakers: how to make climate learning more connected across subjects, how to address unequal experiences, and how to help students see realistic routes from interest to future choices.
