Young People Are Worried About Climate Change—and That’s Affecting Their Future Plans
Nearly 70% of those surveyed say environmental concerns may affect career choice, while others say it’s a factor in decisions about having children
2 min
More than four in five young Americans are worried about the impact of climate change on people and the planet, according to a survey of nearly 16,000 youths published in Lancet Planetary Health on Thursday. Most respondents do not believe governments are doing enough to reduce emissions, and a majority are looking to the corporate sector to make big changes.
As this group of 16- to 25-year-olds enters the workforce, there’s some indication those feelings will affect big life decisions such as where to live, whether to have kids and what to do for work: 64% of respondents said they “strongly agree,” “agree” or “somewhat agree” that climate change will impact their plans for the future.
“We certainly can see that climate is causing a lot of distress,” said Eric Lewandowski, associate professor at New York University’s medical school and lead researcher on the study. He said this is the first survey of its kind that focuses on the U.S., and the largest his team is aware of. A global survey conducted in 2021 found similar levels of climate-related stress among youths around the world.
The study also examined links between experience of severe weather events and attitudes about climate change. The researchers found that regardless of political affiliation, people who said they had experienced severe weather events were more likely to report feeling worried about climate change. Just under half of respondents said they were “very sure” climate change is happening, and a further 20% were “moderately sure.”
“Being anxious about climate disruption is a legitimate response to a real threat,” said Lise Van Susteren, associate professor at George Washington University and researcher on the study. A co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance, a group that helps therapists support patients with environment-related anxiety, Van Susteren said the survey results confirmed what she has seen on the ground, but the numbers were more severe than she expected.
It’s still not clear whether feelings about climate change transfer into broader labor force trends. While 67% of respondents said they may choose to work for employers who show commitments to sustainability and reducing their climate impact, recruiters who work on hiring entry-level candidates for oil and gas jobs say they haven’t heard much about climate concerns, said Keith Wolf, Houston-based managing partner of staffing firm Murray Resources.
Wolf informally polled recruiters on his team, and they said entry-level candidates who expressed hesitancy to work for fossil-fuel companies were outnumbered by those who wanted to break into the field. Some job candidates expressed concerns about other factors affecting the industry, like volatility.
In 2017, Ernst & Young published a survey that found college students were reluctant to pursue jobs in the oil-and-gas industry because they viewed it as “dirty and dangerous,” said Tim Haskell, managing director at the accounting firm.
Since then, he said, employers have updated their talking points. “I think companies saw that message as well as some of their own internal research and have really tried to shift the employee value proposition to say, hey, come here and change the industry from the inside out,” Haskell said.
The Lancet survey found that climate-related concerns about the future extend beyond career choice. More than three-quarters of respondents said the future is frightening, and more than half of respondents agreed that they were hesitant to have children.
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The pandemic-fuelled love affair with casual footwear is fading, with Bank of America warning the downturn shows no sign of easing.
The pandemic-fuelled love affair with casual footwear is fading, with Bank of America warning the downturn shows no sign of easing.
2 minThe boom in casual footware ushered in by the pandemic has ended, a potential problem for companies such as Adidas that benefited from the shift to less formal clothing, Bank of America says.
The casual footwear business has been on the ropes since mid-2023 as people began returning to office.
Analyst Thierry Cota wrote that while most downcycles have lasted one to two years over the past two decades or so, the current one is different.
It “shows no sign of abating” and there is “no turning point in sight,” he said.
Adidas and Nike alone account for almost 60% of revenue in the casual footwear industry, Cota estimated, so the sector’s slower growth could be especially painful for them as opposed to brands that have a stronger performance-shoe segment. Adidas may just have it worse than Nike.
Cota downgraded Adidas stock to Underperform from Buy on Tuesday and slashed his target for the stock price to €160 (about $187) from €213. He doesn’t have a rating for Nike stock.
Shares of Adidas listed on the German stock exchange fell 4.5% Tuesday to €162.25. Nike stock was down 1.2%.
Adidas didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cota sees trouble for Adidas both in the short and long term.
Adidas’ lifestyle segment, which includes the Gazelles and Sambas brands, has been one of the company’s fastest-growing business, but there are signs growth is waning.
Lifestyle sales increased at a 10% annual pace in Adidas’ third quarter, down from 13% in the second quarter.
The analyst now predicts Adidas’ organic sales will grow by a 5% annual rate starting in 2027, down from his prior forecast of 7.5%.
The slower revenue growth will likewise weigh on profitability, Cota said, predicting that margins on earnings before interest and taxes will decline back toward the company’s long-term average after several quarters of outperforming. That could result in a cut to earnings per share.
Adidas stock had a rough 2025. Shares shed 33% in the past 12 months, weighed down by investor concerns over how tariffs, slowing demand, and increased competition would affect revenue growth.
Nike stock fell 9% throughout the period, reflecting both the company’s struggles with demand and optimism over a turnaround plan CEO Elliott Hill rolled out in late 2024.
Investors’ confidence has faded following Nike’s December earnings report, which suggested that a sustained recovery is still several quarters away. Just how many remains anyone’s guess.
But if Adidas’ challenges continue, as Cota believes they will, it could open up some space for Nike to claw back any market share it lost to its rival.
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