On October 14, 2025, Kamala Harris took the stage at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Gala at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, and delivered remarks that have since ignited a national conversation—and a fair bit of controversy. Addressing a room filled with influential leaders, Harris claimed that members of Generation Z are increasingly hesitant to have children due to what she described as "climate anxiety," a term she said was coined by young people themselves. Her comments, which included a tearful anecdote about her goddaughter, have drawn both support and sharp criticism from across the political spectrum, highlighting the deep divides over climate change, generational priorities, and the future of American families.
"They are experiencing what they've coined 'climate anxiety,' which is their fear that because of changing in extreme weather that the future of their lives is very much at stake," Harris said, as reported by the Media Research Center and Breitbart News. She recounted a recent conversation with her goddaughter, a college junior, who broke down in tears and asked, "Should I even be thinking about having children?" For Harris, the moment was deeply personal, and she used it to illustrate what she sees as a growing emotional burden carried by young Americans.
This isn’t the first time Harris has tackled the subject. Back in 2020, while speaking at Reading Area Community College in Pennsylvania, she referenced conversations with "young leaders" who told her about the phenomenon of climate anxiety. "I've heard young leaders talk with me about a term they've coined called 'climate anxiety.' Because young people said, 'We're not leaving it to other people to decide how we're dealing with the climate crisis,'" Harris explained, according to Breitbart News. She described the emotion as "fear of the future and the unknown, whether it makes sense to even think about having children or owning a home because of what this climate will be."
Harris’ message has resonated with some, especially among younger Americans who say their concerns about the climate crisis are not just theoretical—they’re personal, affecting decisions about family, home ownership, and even daily outlook. Harris’ stepdaughter, for instance, took to TikTok in August 2025 to share her own struggles, saying, "I think everything with the environment is really f—king getting to me. … I experienced a lot of climate anxiety, like a lot of us do." She added that it was "not funny," and described feeling "disgust" about the current state of the planet. Her candid admission echoed Harris’s own remarks and gave a face to the statistics that have emerged from national surveys.
And those statistics are telling. According to Pew Research data from 2023, 55 percent of Democrats believe that having fewer children positively impacts the environment, and 78 percent see climate change as a "major threat." In 2025, Pew found that people in their 20s and 30s are planning smaller families, with the U.S. birthrate at just 1.6 births per woman—well below the replacement rate. Yet, paradoxically, Gallup reported in September 2025 that the ideal family size among Americans remains at 2.7 children, with 45 percent of respondents preferring larger families. That’s the highest share since 1971, suggesting a persistent gap between what people want and what they believe is possible.
Gallup offered some insight into why this gap exists. The analytics firm pointed to a range of economic and cultural headwinds, including high costs for housing, child care, healthcare, and higher education, as well as delayed marriage, birth control, and declining religiosity. "The persistence of this gap suggests economic and cultural headwinds may be at work," Gallup noted. The report also found that men, people of color, Republicans, and those who attend religious services regularly are more likely to want three or more children, while women, Democrats, white people, and adults under 30 are more likely to say one or two children is ideal.
Harris’ remarks have not gone without pushback. Some critics, particularly from conservative media, have dismissed her statements as political pandering or even outright fabrication. OutKick published a scathing opinion piece on October 18, 2025, arguing that there is no widespread climate anxiety among Gen Z and calling Harris’s anecdote about her goddaughter "Gaslighting 101." The author claimed, "There is not a 13-year-old in the world who wakes up with climate anxiety. Not one. The ONLY Gen-Zer who even knows the term 'climate anxiety' are the ones with purple hair and a closet full of 'my body, my choice' shirts." The article asserted that most Gen Z voters supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and that more pressing issues, like wars in the Middle East and Venezuela, should take precedence over what they called "nonsense."
This divide reflects a broader cultural and political split over climate change and its impact on daily life. While Harris and her supporters argue that climate anxiety is a real and growing phenomenon with tangible effects on family planning and mental health, her detractors see it as a manufactured crisis, exaggerated for political gain. The skepticism isn’t limited to the right; some centrists and older Americans also question whether anxiety about the environment is truly shaping such fundamental life choices, or if economic factors play a larger role.
Nevertheless, the data suggests that climate concerns are indeed influencing decisions for a significant portion of young Americans. The fact that the birthrate continues to drop, even as the ideal family size remains relatively high, points to a disconnect between aspirations and reality. While climate anxiety may not be the sole driver—economic pressures, cultural changes, and shifting values all play a part—it’s increasingly part of the national conversation.
For Harris, the issue is both political and personal. Her advocacy on climate and abortion rights has made her a lightning rod for criticism, but also a voice for those who feel their anxieties are too often dismissed. By sharing her goddaughter’s story and highlighting her stepdaughter’s struggles, she’s attempting to humanize what can sometimes feel like an abstract policy debate. Whether that approach will resonate with the broader electorate, or simply fuel more partisan rancor, remains to be seen.
As the debate over climate anxiety and family planning continues, one thing is clear: the intersection of environmental fears, economic realities, and generational values is shaping the future of the American family in ways that are still unfolding. The conversation sparked by Harris’s remarks—however contentious—reflects a society grappling with uncertainty, hope, and the enduring question of what kind of world we’re building for the next generation.
