The Climate Baby Dilemma

Deciding whether to have a child is a deeply personal process. Deciding amid increasingly dire warnings for the planet makes it even more overwhelming. The Climate Baby Dilemma explores how the long-held goals of entire generations are being thrown into flux by a warming planet, as a rising number of young people express discomfort with having children due to the existential threat of climate change.

With the future promising to bring increasing instability, deep anxieties around parenting are entering climate conversations. The concerns are two-fold: What impacts does a new human have on an already overburdened planet, and how can one protect a child from the effects of climate change as reports tell us catastrophic changes could be just a decade away? 

Featuring prominent science writer Dr. Britt Wray, the film seeks out activists, authors, and prospective parents considering the implications of introducing a new human into a rapidly changing climate. Some, such as Payton Mitchell and Emma Lim, are driving a youth climate initiative and have joined a "no child" pledge in an effort to compel leaders to action. On the other end, Indigenous activist and new mother Sarain Fox talks about how having a child resists the goals of colonialism and allows culture and language to live on, a crucial political activity for oppressed communities. The film also looks at how these movements are misunderstood and weaponized by climate deniers who would deem their efforts "population control" and "civilizational suicide." It also considers the effects that pre-traumatic stress and climate grief have on young people, with declining birth rates being one indicator of growing climate anxiety. Eventually, Wray herself faces the question of whether or not to start a family as she weighs that decision against the knowledge brought about by her work, and ultimately reconciles starting a family with climate action.

Though the realities are stark and distressing, The Climate Baby Dilemma compels viewers not to grieve prematurely, as the solutions to climate change already exist, and posits that the action of building and maintaining community may ultimately be the best means to combat eco-anxiety. Indeed, the best antidote to feeling powerless is activism, which can take many forms, including both refusing to have a child, as well as broadening the responsibilities of child-rearing to the extended family, and solidifying a commitment to climate action to help provide a healthier planet for future generations through the act of parenthood.

---

FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "What I learned, emotionally, making this film was far more beautiful and hopeful than I expected, but it was also more deeply heartbreaking than I could have imagined. To be clear, no one featured in the film is interested in telling others to have kids or not, and this is not about population control. It is an urgent indicator of how young people are feeling.

By giving shape to something so personal, I hope the film encourages more people to have these conversations. It not only helps manage the emotions, but it personalizes the stakes of the crisis and plugs us into what will keep children safer: advancing justice-oriented approaches to climate action and the transition off fossil fuels.

Making the film has connected me more intentionally and deeply to that sense of love for the next generation, and it has also introduced new sets of questions involving what's now required to truly demonstrate that love to them. We are still learning about the true toll of the climate crisis. But the future is not doomed — it is still unwritten. Regardless of the level of climate devastation ahead, I've learned that we must now to find new tools as parents, as aunties and uncles, as godparents and community members to support the youth in our lives. It also means preparing for the day when a child looks you in the eye and asks if you did everything you possibly could."