Abstract
<p>Youth mental ill-health is rising globally, while climate change is intensifying distress, uncertainty, grief, and disaster-related trauma among young people. Existing mental health systems remain largely reactive and clinically oriented, while disaster responses are often short-term and crisis-focused. This leaves a major gap in care for the chronic, collective, and climate-related dimensions of distress. This paper proposes Environmental-action Social Prescribing (ESP) as a distinct and emerging model of care that connects young people with meaningful environmental action through structured, supported pathways. Drawing on evidence from social prescribing (including green and blue social prescribing), nature-based interventions, interventions for climate/eco-distress and environmental engagement programs, we outline the rationale, active ingredients, system and policy requirements for ESP. Using three case studies, we argue that ESP requires three key elements: effective models of mental health care, supportive ecosystems that enable sustained engagement, and cross-sector infrastructure and system capacity. Together, these elements can extend traditional social prescribing, in the context of climate-related distress and the need for more widespread environmental action, by combining emotional validation, social connection, practical coping, meaning-making, agency, and collective environmental action. Although ESP is not yet established as a formal youth mental health care model, it represents a unique opportunity to address both youth mental health and planetary challenges. Realising this opportunity will require targeted investment in model development, evaluation, workforce capability, community infrastructure, and policy integration. ESP could support a generation of psychologically resilient, socially connected, and environmentally engaged young people.</p>