A generation raised on climate crisis warnings is now making the most personal decision of all—whether to bring children into what they perceive as a dying world.
Story Highlights
- New survey reveals climate change significantly influences Gen Z’s reproductive choices
- Young adults cite environmental concerns as primary factor in family planning decisions
- Climate anxiety extends beyond personal fears to concerns about children’s future wellbeing
- Economic factors intertwine with environmental worries to create perfect storm of fertility hesitation
The New Reality of Reproductive Choices
Generation Z faces an unprecedented dilemma that previous generations never confronted. Fresh survey data indicates that climate change concerns are fundamentally reshaping how young adults approach one of life’s most fundamental decisions—whether to have children. This isn’t merely about personal preference or economic timing; it’s about moral calculations involving planetary survival and future human suffering.
The survey findings paint a stark picture of a generation grappling with existential questions about bringing new life into what they perceive as an increasingly unstable world. Young adults report feeling torn between natural parental instincts and deep-seated fears about subjecting children to climate-related hardships including extreme weather, food insecurity, and social upheaval.
Utility scale solar company PVFARM posting their L's:
They paid for a survey to get a story in Newsweek about people being afraid to have kids because of climate change.
Guess they think solar is the key for Gen Z to have kids. pic.twitter.com/s5pahwGpLz
— "Experts" Posting Their Ls (@ExpertsPostLs) September 22, 2025
Beyond Personal Fear to Parental Responsibility
Climate anxiety among Gen Z extends far beyond personal environmental concerns. These young adults express profound worry about the world they would leave to their hypothetical children. They question whether it’s ethical to bring children into a world facing rising sea levels, increasing natural disasters, and potential societal collapse driven by climate change.
The survey data reveals that respondents aren’t simply worried about their own future comfort or lifestyle. Instead, they’re conducting complex moral calculations about potential children’s quality of life, safety, and basic survival prospects. Many describe feeling selfish for even considering parenthood given current environmental trajectories and inadequate governmental responses to climate threats.
Economic Pressures Amplify Environmental Concerns
Climate fears don’t exist in isolation but compound existing economic anxieties that already make family formation challenging for young adults. The cost of raising children continues to escalate while wages struggle to keep pace with inflation, housing costs, and student loan debt. When combined with climate uncertainty, these financial pressures create what many describe as insurmountable barriers.
Survey respondents frequently mention the additional financial burden of preparing for climate-related emergencies, relocating away from vulnerable areas, or investing in sustainable living arrangements. They calculate not just traditional childcare costs but potential expenses related to climate adaptation, emergency preparedness, and geographic mobility necessitated by environmental changes.
Societal Implications of Fertility Decline
The survey results suggest potential long-term demographic shifts that could reshape American society. If significant portions of Gen Z delay or forgo childbearing due to climate concerns, the nation could face accelerated population aging, labor shortages, and increased strain on social safety nets designed around population growth assumptions. The survey data captures a generation caught between competing values of environmental responsibility and faith in human adaptability.
Sources:
https://www.newsweek.com/climate-change-making-gen-z-less-likely-have-children-new-survey-2133844
UNCTAD Global Economic Report 2025
