Our Scotland, Our Future: Public Engagement Strategy for Climate and Nature - CRWIA

5. Analysis of Evidence

There are five key themes which emerged from analysis of evidence (section 3).

5.1) Climate change is an important issue for children and young people

Evidence from Truth About Youth: Our 2025 Insights Survey (Young Scot, 2025, YoungScotCorporate) and Climate Anxiety in Children and Young People and Their Beliefs About Government Responses to Climate Change (Hickman et al., 2021, The Lancet) demonstrates that climate change is a significant concern for children and young people. Young Scot's survey found that climate change, changing weather patterns and education are among the issues most important to young people in Scotland, whilst Hickman et al. found that many young people experience worry, anxiety and concern about the impacts of climate change. The evidence suggests that young people want to better understand climate change and nature loss and have confidence that action is being taken. The PES objectives of Understand and Motivate seek to respond to this by improving awareness of Scotland's climate and nature goals, increasing understanding of the actions being taken to address the twin crises, and supporting children and young people to engage constructively with climate and nature issues.

Further evidence from the Climate Crisis Education work undertaken by the Scottish Children’s Parliament reinforces this finding. The Children’s Human Rights Defender’s group within the Children’s Parliament highlighted a desire for better access to climate education, clearer communication about what is being done to address climate change, and more opportunities to be involved in climate-related activity and decision-making. This demonstrates that children consider climate change to be an issue that directly affects their lives and futures, and that they wish to be informed participants in discussions about it.

5.2) Children and young people want meaningful participation and influence

Evidence from Supporting Young People as Genuine Political Actors in Climate Decision-Making (Arnot et al., 2023, Health Promotion International), Climate change – public engagement strategy: mid-point review (Scottish Government, 2025), the Climate Crisis Education work of the Children's Parliament, and feedback gathered through the three external stakeholder workshops on the draft Strategy, consistently highlighted the importance of meaningful participation.

This evidence found that children and young people are often excluded from climate decision-making despite being disproportionately affected by climate change. It also demonstrated that young people do not simply want information about climate change but want opportunities to influence decisions and see how their views have been taken into account. Stakeholder feedback similarly highlighted the importance of moving beyond participation as an activity and ensuring children and young people have a genuine voice and receive feedback on how their contributions have influenced outcomes.

This evidence informed the strengthened focus on the 'Voice' objective within the PES and the inclusion of outcomes relating to participation, dialogue and feedback loops. The proposal therefore supports children's rights to have their views respected and to participate in decisions affecting them.

5.3) Children learn and engage most effectively through participatory, place-based and interactive approaches

Evidence from Just Adapt: Engaging Disadvantaged Young People in Planning for Climate Adaptation (Davies & Hügel, 2021, Politics and Governance), Using Empirical Science Education in Schools to Improve Climate Change Literacy (Kumar et al., 2023, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews), Identifying Effective Climate Change Education Strategies: A Systematic Review (Monroe et al., 2017, Environmental Education Research), You and CO₂: A Public Engagement Study to Engage Secondary School Students with the Issue of Climate Change (Rudd, Horry & Skains, 2020, Journal of Science Education and Technology) and Learning for Sustainability (SQA) identified common themes regarding effective engagement with children and young people.

The evidence showed that children learn most effectively when education and engagement activities are interactive, relevant to their lives, community-focused and provide opportunities for discussion, creativity and practical action. Place-based learning and experiential activities were found to increase understanding, engagement and confidence, while creative and participatory approaches helped make climate issues more meaningful and accessible.

This evidence informed the PES commitment to audience-focused engagement and recognises that engagement with children and young people should be tailored to their needs. It also reinforces the importance of using diverse approaches, including schools, communities and informal learning opportunities, to support climate literacy and participation.

5.4) Agency and action can support wellbeing and positive engagement

Evidence from Climate Anxiety in Children and Young People and Their Beliefs About Government Responses to Climate Change (Hickman et al., 2021, The Lancet), Just Adapt: Engaging Disadvantaged Young People in Planning for Climate Adaptation (Davies & Hügel, 2021, Politics and Governance) and Children’s constructive climate change engagement: Empowering awareness, agency, and action (Trott, 2020, Environmental Education Research) demonstrated the importance of combining climate awareness with opportunities for action.

While some young people experience concern and anxiety regarding climate change, the evidence suggests that increasing knowledge alongside opportunities to participate and take action can help foster empowerment, confidence and agency.

Trott found that participatory climate education increased not only knowledge but also children's motivation and willingness to act, while Davies and Hügel found similar increases in confidence among participants.

This evidence informed the PES focus on motivating and empowering people, including children and young people, to contribute to climate and nature action. By helping children understand their role in addressing climate change and creating opportunities for participation, the Strategy has the potential to support positive engagement and wellbeing.

5.5) Children can influence wider society and benefit from access to reliable information

Evidence from Children Can Foster Climate Change Concern Among Their Parents (Lawson et al., 2019, Nature Climate Change) and Quality Child-Parent Relationships and Their Impact on Intergenerational Learning and Multiplier Effects in Climate Change Education: Are We Bridging the Knowledge-Action Gap? (Parth et al., 2020, Sustainability) demonstrated that children can influence attitudes, knowledge and discussions about climate change within their families and wider communities. This suggests that investment in children's climate literacy and participation can generate wider benefits beyond individual children and support broader societal engagement with climate and nature issues.

Evidence from Misinformation: Susceptibility, Spread, and Interventions to Immunize the Public (Van der Linden, 2022, Nature Medicine) highlighted the importance of media literacy and preventative approaches to tackling misinformation. The evidence indicates that improving people's understanding and resilience to misinformation can support informed decision-making and engagement.

Together, this evidence supports the PES commitment to improving understanding, increasing access to trusted information sources and supporting climate literacy. It also demonstrates that children and young people can play an important role in influencing wider climate awareness and action within their schools, families and communities.