Volume 18, Issue 3 p. 145-154
ARTICLE

The developmental consequences of early exposure to climate change-related risks

Jorge Cuartas

Corresponding Author

Jorge Cuartas

Centro de Estudios sobre Seguridad y Drogas (CESED), Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Correspondence

Jorge Cuartas, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

Email: [email protected]

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Dana C. McCoy

Dana C. McCoy

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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Isabella Torres

Isabella Torres

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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Lindsey Burghardt

Lindsey Burghardt

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

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Jack P. Shonkoff

Jack P. Shonkoff

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Hirokazu Yoshikawa

NYU Global TIES for Children, New York, New York, USA

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First published: 22 February 2024
Citations: 1

Abstract

The climate crisis encompasses a constellation of risks that threaten human livelihoods, well-being, and survival globally. In this article, we present a new framework based on bioecological and dynamic systems perspectives, and on evidence for conceptualizing how the distinctive dual time frame of both acute (e.g., extreme weather events) and chronic (e.g., ecological degradation) climate change-related risks experienced prenatally and early in life across multiple ecological contexts can threaten human development. We conclude with a call to developmental researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to invest more efforts in understanding and addressing the climate crisis and its developmental consequences to ensure a sustainable future for all.