A cold, windy morning signals Melbourne’s balmy autumn is ending. Undeterred, Abi Low walks around Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster East with her golden retriever, Casper.

It’s a daily ritual for both of them

“Because I work in the city and I’m often not being around nature, I kind of notice how agitated I get,” says Low.

“But then when I go out into a forest or park or something, I’m like, ‘oh, I actually feel really calm’.”

Low, aged 20-something, says this is why action on the environment will be one of the main issues influencing her decision on Saturday when she casts her vote in the neck and neck seat of Menzies, currently held by Liberal MP Keith Wolahan.

Like many of her generation, Low juggles a deep appreciation for nature with concern about how endangered it is as the climate crisis escalates.

While the trend in recent elections has been for climate and environment to consistently be rated a top concern among young people, in 2025 it’s been eclipsed for many members of Gen Z by the cost-of-living crisis.

In 2024, more than half of 17,480 Australians aged 15-19 identified cost of living as the top national issue in a Mission Australia survey. Just one quarter prioritised climate and environment, the first time these issues dropped from top spot since COVID dominated the zeitgeist in 2021.

Since the 2022 so-called “climate election” ushered a wave of climate-active Green and teal candidates into federal parliament, the number of respondents listing climate in the youth survey as their main concern has fallen 18 per cent. This is twice the decline measured in a Roy Morgan national survey of the general population, which showed climate priority falling 9 per cent (from 32 per cent to 23 per cent).

Many young people are feeling “a general sense of anxiety and foreboding about the future which, of course, is well-founded when we look at the acceleration in climate impacts, and how that’s directly impacting on our health and our livelihoods and the prospects for the future,” says Climate Council fellow Dr Simon Bradshaw.

He sees that often “coupled with a sense of anger and powerlessness and betrayal from decision makers”, which may leave some with a sense that meaningful action is out of reach.

This manifests as rising climate anxiety. His 2022 research into the toll of climate change on Australians’ mental health found impacts from extreme weather disasters were highest among young people, particularly young women.

Fear of the future due to climate change was reported by 53 per cent of 12 to 25-year-olds surveyed by youth mental health organisation Headspace in 2023. One in five said the fear affects their daily lives.

“If you’re a young person today, you’ve likely been aware of this growing crisis for most of your life,” says Bradshaw.

“People’s belief in whether politicians have their backs, are taking action seriously, that really does have an impact on our mental well-being and of course [on] how we are likely to vote in the upcoming election.”

Residents of Menzies place high value on the natural environment, says City of Manningham mayor, Cr Deirdre Diamante.

“Manningham has passionate local volunteers who are committed to protecting the green wedge,” she says, referring to the expansive protected, largely undeveloped zone running through the north east suburbs, including the lakeside Low and Casper regularly enjoy.

Diamante says these green spaces offer significant social, mental and physical health benefits and are important biodiversity hotspots for native flora and fauna. Menzies voters are more likely than the average Australian to identify climate change as a key personal and community issue, according to a recent survey by Salvation Army’s Social Justice Stocktake. Responses to a 2022 Manningham city council survey showed 64 per cent of Manningham residents wanted more local environmental action.

Despite the slide in climate as an election priority among many young voters, tackling global heating remains an urgent priority for Zoomers, with polling by the Lowy Institute showing 73 per cent support immediate action. But this growing cohort still has less than average punch in Menzies, which skews older. In 2022, the four seats that swung to the Greens each had proportions of 18-29 year olds above 22 per cent.

Getting young people in Melbourne’s east involved in climate action can be difficult, says Environment Victoria community organiser Peizhi Jiang. He suggests this may be less to do with apathy than structural barriers, pointing to climate initiatives that target homeowners electrifying their homes and vehicles.​​

“Most young people here are renters and renters are really in a disadvantaged situation at this moment,” he says.  “That’s a high barrier for young people … they can’t afford to do that.”

A feeling of powerlessness – metaphorically in a political sense, literally in terms of energy-choice – is a major contributor to climate anxiety for young people, Jiang says.

Low says she can relate. “There are definitely times where I’m like, ‘yeah, I think I just need to switch off my phone a bit and focus on the things that I have put in place’… But I don’t really like to not be informed at the same time.”

“The environment is a big issue for me because I love spending time in nature. So when I do see environments not being taken care of, that really pisses me off”.

An edited version of this story is co-published with Crikey.com