Beginning in September 2014, Toscano shifted his public focus to spreading awareness about climate change. Although not an environmentalist, he was motivated to become a climate advocate because of his concerns about human rights and social justice. He has also joked that his Italian-American heritage has played a role too: "On a warmer planet where there's more drought, there will be more crop failure, including potentially, failures of wheat production, leading to shortages of pasta. I was like, wait, what?" Though Toscano has been presenting about climate change since September 2014, his realization of needing to take action - also known as his "apastalypse" - occurred in 2012.