Dd14. Can’t sleep because of worry over climate.

[Treatedlikeamaid]

How can I calm her down? She gets so upset and can’t sleep, I’ve just put her back to bed now. In the summer she got very anxious about it. What on Earth can I say? ( no pun intended)

When I was her age it was nuclear war that kept me awake (and watching Threads).
My mum encouraged me to become Involved and I joined CND and went on marches.

I still worried but felt I was doing my bit - it eased the anxiety

My DC are a bit younger but I have friends and colleagues whose DC are your DD's age, and who are very engaged with climate issues. In their DC's cases, engagement has been the key out of the anxiety they first experienced when climate issues gained prominence in the mainstream and social media last year. They have participated in some of the school strikes and one colleague's DD has created a position for herself as 'green officer' at her school and now leads a team of likeminded peers in promoting awareness of environmental issues at her school. One friend's DD attends local Extinction Rebellion meetings and gets a great deal of confidence and a sense of empowerment from that. It probably helps that their parents have educated themselves on the climate emergency and are modelling responsive, responsible decision making on green issues. My colleague and his family had a pizza night tonight and watched the party leaders climate debate on Channel 4. My kids are younger, 6 and 9, but are still exposed to information about the climate on the radio, at school etc. They have enjoyed attending climate marches and monitoring our green efforts at home. Youngest DC is a school council rep, and asked for waste reduction measures to be introduced in the school lunch hall, which has increased her feeling of empowerment.
Inaction can lead to feelings of hopelessness and anxiety. The cognitive dissonance is not as far reaching in young people as it seems to be in their parents' generation, where many know and understand the science but have done very little to change their behaviour. This is incredibly disconcerting to young people, seeing adults act against their best interest or the common good, despite knowing better.