Trying to save the world is leaving young climate change activists exhausted and frustrated

Rising seas, deadly heatwaves, mass migration and famine – that's the future today's young climate change activists are fighting to avoid. But many say it's an even more difficult struggle than they imagined.

Across the globe, young people are overwhelmingly concerned about the potential impact of climate change. According to a 2021 study surveying 10,000 people aged 16 to 25 across 10 countries, 84% of respondents reported being at least “moderately worried” about the climate crisis.

That concern has spawned a wave of teenagers and young adults who have become central in conveying the long-term effects of global warming, causing figures such as Greta Thunberg  to rise to international prominence.

Multiple young activists told USA TODAY they're motivated to keep moving forward, but the challenges and distractions keep piling up. Some worry that the frustration could one day turn to apathy.

“There's just so many other things to focus on, and they’re taking our attention away from climate organizing,” said Sarah Goody, who began climate work in sixth grade and is now a rising senior at Redwood High School in Larkspur, California .

She’s watched burnout take its toll on the enthusiasm many see as central to the youth climate movement: “I think it's, over time, starting to lose some of that passion and some of that energy.”

Here's a few challenges today's young climate activists say they face:

Adults abdicating responsibility

Julie Sifuentes, of the Oregon Health Authority’s health and climate team,  said there’s a tendency to uplift youth voices within the climate movement. This practice, she said, has its benefits – and its downsides.

In interviews with young organizers for a study published in June, Sifuentes said many told her they feel a sense of responsibility in addressing climate change. They often feel society has put the onus on youth to fix environmental issues caused by previous generations.

“It is so much more urgent than that,” Sifuentes said. “To wait for (young activists) sort of feels like a dismissal of responsibility of adults, who could do something now.”

Maryama Warsame, 18,  said she sees this playing out in her own activism, especially when adults affirm her work without actually making changes.

“We're used for their benefit, when they are ignoring our cries for help with climate justice,” Warsame said. “A lot of the time, I feel like it's just demonstrative, and they don't necessarily care what we have to say.”

Activism amid a pandemic worsens disparities

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact daily life, environmental organizers say the current crisis has detracted from efforts to fight the looming climate crisis.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, organizers in positions of privilege have been more likely to stay involved in climate work, while marginalized activists have been forced to navigate the compounding effects of COVID-19 on their lives.

That's what Penelope Chester, the chief operations officer of Future Coalition,  has observed in her role, where she works with youth-led grassroots organizations, providing student leaders with advice and support.

“The activists that have better support networks, and that are more privileged overall, are the ones who can stick around. And the ones that are struggling more, in a personal way, or in their community are the ones that tend to drop off,” Chester said. “The current circumstances make that distinction even more dire.”

An uphill battle to make even incremental change

The passage earlier this month of the Inflation Reduction Act, has been heralded as a landmark piece of legislation in part due to its climate provisions, but activists say elected officials should be taking more drastic steps.

“A lot of the time, our representatives, they're not really looking forward,” said Maya Hidalgo, 18, of Bloomington, Minnesota, who has tackled a wide range of projects, including statewide efforts to standardize climate justice education.

“They're not looking ahead and seeing those effects of climate change — they’re looking in the near future to see what will benefit them now.”

Similarly, Warsame said she has been in many situations where her attendance and voice have been seen as an asset to legislators instead of a point of genuine concern. She said members of marginalized communities often experience this more frequently.

Life goes on

Even as many young people are taking up the cause of climate action, the mental and emotional tolls of their work are continuing to mount. Organizers said it’s often a challenge to balance activism with other elements of their lives, such as academics and other extracurriculars.

For Hidalgo, most of the past year has been spent focusing on local change. From composting and the creation of a community garden to climate education, Hidalgo spent the majority of her senior year bettering her high school. As she looks to college, she said she plans to continue to focus and localize her organizing efforts, which she also hopes to incorporate into her career.

“I try to focus on just a few things so that it doesn't feel overwhelming,” Hidalgo said. “You can feel like you're making progress in a specific area instead of the broader problem, because no one can solve the whole problem.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Some climate organizers are burning out after years of pandemic work