This report examines the psychological and developmental impact of climate change education on primary school-aged children, arguing that the current approach within the Australian Curriculum is cognitively inappropriate and ethically questionable. 

Children at this developmental stage lack the cognitive capacity to fully comprehend abstract, multifactorial issues such as climate science, economic policy and global environmental systems. Through a review of case studies, psychological data and curriculum analysis, the report demonstrates how current climate education strategies may inadvertently harm young learners by inducing anxiety rather than promoting meaningful engagement. 

The report calls for a shift toward developmentally appropriate, psychologically safe and empowering environmental education. This includes focusing on local, actionable solutions and fostering agency through positive framing, rather than burdening children with global existential threats. The report concludes with policy recommendations that include cross-disciplinary collaboration between educators, psychologists and neuroscientists, the integration of mental health safeguards into curriculum design and the abandonment of the cross curriculum priority of sustainability.