For the past year, I’ve been honored to be part of the Early Years Climate Action Task Force, a group of 20 early years leaders, climate leaders, researchers, medical professionals, parents, philanthropists, and others who came together to learn about the impacts of climate change on young children aged 0-8. As a climate-concerned mother of 7-year-old twins, this work has been deeply personal.
Much of what we’ve learned as a task force has been unsettling, particularly during a year in which so many of us have experienced the impacts of climate change firsthand. Through a series of listening sessions, we heard people across the country—childcare providers, government officials, pediatricians, parents, and others—tell us how climate change is already impacting young children. We heard about children whose asthma is triggered by wildfire smoke, health care clinics paralyzed by storms, and the devastating impact of heat on pregnant people and young children. We heard about families struggling after hurricanes without flood insurance, children unable to safely play outside, and the stark disparities faced by the communities of color disproportionately burdened by climate threats.
But most importantly, we heard about creative, innovative, we-can-do-this solutions, and envisioned together what a healthy, resilient future might look like for young children and their families. Today, these ideas have been captured in a new report: Flourishing Children, Healthy Communities, and a Stronger Nation, The U.S. Early Years Climate Action Plan. The report lays out the impacts of climate change on young children and their families, and outlines clear recommendations for policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as for early childhood providers, businesses, philanthropists, and researchers.
A sample of the action plan’s key recommendations include:
- Federal policymakers can consider how the policies will impact children and future generations, using existing programs like the Inflation Reduction Act to advance solutions.
- States can implement programs to support expecting parents and caregivers, ensuring that they have the resources and tools to promote healthy child development in a changing climate.
- Local communities can ensure playgrounds have sufficient shade and are safe, sustainable spaces for young children to learn and play.
- Early childhood providers can upgrade their facilities using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and can use their relationships with families to inform and support them in the climate change era.
- The business community can create climate-aware policies and programs for employees with young children.
- Philanthropy can develop a regular national scorecard on the state of young children and climate change.
- Researchers can research best practices in communicating with young children and their parents about climate change.
Climate disruption is affecting families here and now, and we know that climate impacts are likely to only escalate for the foreseeable future. But we are not powerless to keep young children safer and healthier. By taking the steps outlined by the Flourishing Children action plan, we can enable our youngest children to thrive in a changing climate, laying the foundation for a more resilient and just society for generations to come.