Sep, 2026 

Dear Lord Mayor,

Can young people solve the climate crisis?

We must look after the climate, the environment and nature — but we have forgotten that we, too, are part of nature. We are overexploiting ourselves in a society stretched to breaking point. Perhaps the reason we are not taking proper care of the climate and nature is precisely that we have forgotten this fundamental connection: that we ourselves are part of nature.

In my collaboration with visual artist Johan August, we have been working on the wellbeing of children and young people. Here we see how our understanding of ourselves as part of nature and biology is distant, and how our relationship with nature is consequently faltering. This is happening, amongst other things, as children and young people increasingly spend their time indoors in front of a screen rather than being outdoors — for example, in nature.

We have interviewed many young people about their wellbeing in the municipalities of Copenhagen, Rødovre and Svendborg. Among them were three teenage girls who unanimously said that the forest is boring — even though they live in the countryside. Most report using their mobile phones for 4–5 hours a day, and the young people in Copenhagen and Rødovre describe a feeling of constant pressure.

Fortunately, climate awareness is greater amongst the younger generations than it is amongst us adults. But do they have the mental capacity to tackle this historically significant challenge? Or do performance pressures, anxiety, depression and stress lie just beneath the surface — acting as a substitute for, or a barrier to, their ability to take action on the climate challenge?

What we, as ‘adults’, can do is ensure that our children and young people are mentally equipped to face the enormous climate challenge we have left them.

I’m sorry.

Kenneth Balfelt

26 April 2021

Dear Lord Mayor,

The risk of collapse is rising sharply as we become increasingly stressed

Resilience in the face of climate challenges

One of the major challenges of our time is stress. The causes of stress are complex, but there is evidence that a significant imbalance between our activity (use of the brain) and recovery (relaxation of the brain) is a major contributing factor.

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Stress challenges both our ability to be present, to function within and build relationships, and our resilience in the face of major challenges and disasters.

 In other words, we are challenged both in our ability to cope with difficult situations, such as climate disasters, to develop new solutions, and to engage in communities that have been shown to enhance our capacity to tackle major challenges. The risk of collapse is rising sharply as we become increasingly stressed.

We therefore view stress as a ‘time bomb under the system’, which makes it significantly harder for us to tackle the climate challenge!

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 We therefore call for us, in parallel with concrete ‘climate action’, to develop our culture and way of life in relation to stress. We propose that, in Copenhagen, we develop innovative cultural centres: spaces where, in an enjoyable and restorative way, we can bring about a cultural shift that both promotes health and fosters innovative solutions to critical challenges such as the climate crisis.

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As an artistic association working in urban development, we aim to help develop methods for how we can live, work, eat, travel, take time off and socialise in a way that is more mindful, nourishing and sustainable – for ourselves, society and the planet.

Vulnerable people are the most at risk

As part of this challenge, we are seeing socially vulnerable people being pushed further and further to the margins of our city. But they, too, have rights and are a resource! So how do we include vulnerable people in our urban planning, provide them with dignified living conditions and foster dialogue?

In our work on such initiatives, we have seen how marginalised people thrive when they are listened to, involved and given a say – which can help connect them with others in the city who have greater resources, thereby equipping them to cope with disasters. They must be included in our communities – otherwise they will be the biggest losers in the climate crisis!

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 Kind regards,

Kenneth Balfelt Team