Faced with the intensification of environmental crises, a new form of psychological distress is gaining ground, especially among young people: eco-anxiety.
Describes as « mental and emotional distress in response to the threat of climate change » (Hogg et al., 2021), it is not a pathology in itself, but a warning signal. An indicator of a world that is changing too fast, too strong, and facing which many young people feel powerless.
75% of young people in the world judge the future « scary »
Hickman et al., 2021
In France, 24-35 years are the most eco-anxiety, with significantly higher levels of concern than in previous generations (ADEME, 2025).
This alarming observation underscores the urgency of intervening upstream from high school. To prevent it is to allow them to turn this anxiety into a commitment, rather than allow it to settle in chronic distress.
At the origin of this anxiety, we often find a massive exposure to fragmented, pessimistic or anxiety-free information: collapse of biodiversity, multiplication of natural disasters, social crisis... This overabundance of information is aggravated by social media algorithms, which amplify confusion and anxiety.
4 out of 5 high school students in France fail to distinguish between sponsored content and journalistic information on social networks.
CLEMI, 2024
This inability to discern feeds a sense of uncertainty, fatalism and discouragement.
If eco-anxiety can be an engine of engagement when accompanied, it becomes a source of ill-being when young people have no space for speech, no reference points or tools to transform it.
Eco-anxiety is a public health issue that requires both preventive and therapeutic responses.
ADEME, 2025
This growing phenomenon remains insufficiently addressed in our public policies. In 2025, ADEME recognized it as a major public health issue, calling for both preventive and therapeutic responses. The Agency recommends in particular:
How can we transform the eco-anxiety of young people into a lever of commitment to life paths and impact jobs, by identifying the psychological mechanisms of adaptation and the concrete conditions that favour this shift?
Earth Care Movement was born to respond to this problem: To accompany young people by reconnecting them to themselves, to others and to live, in order to turn their eco-anxiety into a commitment.
Eco-anxiety is neither a passing mode nor a generational weakness. It is a lucid and legitimate response to the environmental emergency and the lack of perspective offered to young people.
As a public and societal health issue, it identifies a crucial need: to equip young people to understand the world, find their place and act with discernment.
Building a generation capable of turning anxiety into commitment is building a more resilient, conscious, and just society.
