It’s not always easy to find good news about climate change. We read about climate disasters on the news, see shocking images and data on social media, and hear about new doomsday scenarios from our friends and family all the time. It’s enough to make you want to give up hope—almost.

There are two ways to talk about climate change. Some people focus on how bad things are. These people are called climate doomers. They believe fear will inspire action. Some even assume there’s no point in acting. For them, it’s already too late. Others are what we could call climate optimists. They say there are good reasons to believe we can solve our climate problems. They think we should focus more on the good news. This group says if we focus only on bad news, people will feel helpless and hopeless. That might make them give up. Climate optimists say the best way to inspire people to act is to give them hope.

We agree with the optimists. What about you?

Are humans doomed?

In 2021, a large group of people ages 16 to 25 were surveyed about climate change. Ten thousand young people were questioned. More than half said they believe humans are doomed. More than one-third said they were afraid to have children because of future climate change. Many said they felt they would have a harder life than their parents had. What does all this mean? It means the climate doomers have convinced a lot of people.

Still, they have not convinced everyone. Were you born after 1996? If so, you are a member of the generation most likely to do something about climate change. Your age group is speaking up. You are much more active in the fight against climate change than your parents or grandparents.¹ And you are giving older generations hope. People are listening to you.

But maybe you’re still very worried. Let me try to convince you to become an informed optimist. Informed optimists know about the problems we face. They know the problems are real and are serious. But optimists believe these problems can be solved.

What do informed optimists believe?

Should we be optimistic? It seems like there’s a new story about a climate disaster every day. But this isn’t the whole picture. Scientists look at detailed, long-range climate data. This data gives us a more complete idea than individual news stories. It shows that there are reasons to be optimistic. Look at the data. It shows that new technologies and better social organization are helping. They are making people better able to handle natural disasters. Death rates from these disasters are falling.

Death rates from disasters

And it doesn’t stop there. The cost of solar energy and wind power has dropped dramatically. The price of batteries for storing all that clean energy has also fallen. Electric vehicle sales are increasing every year.

Scientists are still worried, of course. They want us to work together to stop some changes before they cause great harm. But many also want us to understand that there are things we can do. They believe we can turn things around. The scientists certainly don’t think we are doomed.²

Informed optimism is not blind optimism

There are good reasons to be optimistic about the future. But climate change is still an enormous challenge. Climate optimists know that. Being optimistic doesn’t mean you are satisfied with the way things are. Informed optimists know that if we do nothing, things will get worse. They also know that there are solutions to climate change. New ideas are being talked about that can make a big difference.

Informed optimists know that new ideas often fail. The public is often slow to accept new things. Many technologies we need to fight climate change still face great resistance. This is true of nuclear energy, for example. This is also true of plant-based meat substitutes. People find it hard to change their habits. However, informed optimists do not give up. They keep trying. And they keep coming up with new solutions.

We have to keep at this!

We still have time to make a difference. But we must work together.

We need to begin using new forms of energy. We must change the way we grow and treat our food. And we need to change how we grow food and what materials we use to build. We need to change how we travel, how we move things, and how we heat and cool our buildings. We must convince governments, corporations, and individuals to adopt these changes. This work will be hard. It will sometimes fail. But we won’t do any of this if we are pessimistic. A pessimist assumes the world is already doomed. What we need is informed optimists.

It’s time to choose. We can give in to fear and expect the worst. Or we can be willing to believe a better future is possible and try to make it happen. The informed optimists will act. Will you join them?

1 Cary Funk, “Key Findings: How Americans’ Attitudes About Climate Change Differ by Generation, Party and Other Factors,” Pew Research Center, May 26, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/05/26/key-findings-how-americans-attitudes-about-climate-change-differ-by-generation-party-and-other-factors/
2 Hannah Ritchie, “Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die from Climate Change,” Wired, January 11, 2021. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/climate-crisis-doom