PEOPLE AND PLANET

The Challenge of our Century

Tackling the climate crisis requires phenomenal mental strength.

We need empathy and compassion to care about problems that may have catastrophic results for others but not for us; we need perspective to see the future and react while we still have time to change it; we need creativity, humility and courage to change our behaviour and collaborate in radical ways beyond our comfort zones; and we need the drive and resilience to do all of this for the years that it will take to do enough to matter.

Our collective mental strength and ability to change our habits will be fundamental to our planet’s recovery. Exploring the relationship between our mental health and our climate is an important first step.

The climate crisis and our environment affect our mental health…

…and our mental health affects our ability to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis

  • Wherever humanity and our habits are at the heart of the problem, so our mental strength (including our ability to change, adapt, innovate, empathise and think strategically) will be critical to the solution.

  • Those suffering from mental illness are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with increased risks of severe symptoms, poor physical health and death.

    Source: Imperial College London

  • Some activists at the very heart of spurring on the movement to tackle the world’s climate crisis are writing about their vulnerability to distress and ‘climate activism burnout.’

    More information: Force of Nature

  • Those vulnerable to the effects of climate change (e.g. refugees, migrants, young children) are also some of those most vulnerable to poor mental health, making it even harder to respond to the climate-related crises that they are facing.

    Source: Imperial College London

  • Mental illness, as its own global crisis, is silently reducing global capacity to tackle other crises, costing the global economy USD16trillion from 2020-2030.

    Source: Lancet Commission

the OPPORTUNITY

There is an opportunity to recognise how important each crisis is to the other and to proactively link mental health and climate policies together to create a virtuous cycle.

Tackling two problems at the same time:

  • Creating green and blue spaces.

    In urban areas, these places help to reduce greenhouse gases and city temperatures, as well as psychological distress and depression symptoms.

  • Increasing cycling and walking infrastructure.

    This helps to reduce emissions; to reduce air pollution; and to improve mental health.

  • Supporting the wellbeing of environmental decision-makers

    Proactively building the resilience and mental strength of those at the heart of the climate crisis.

  • Cool Roofing

    Roofs and pavements typically cover around 60% of a city, and conventional roofing and paving materials absorb around 80% of sunlight. By replacing with highly reflective (white) options, urban heat can be reduced.

    Source: C40 guide on cooling your city

  • Supporting community programs and social prescribing.

    Encouraging individuals to engage in activities such as planting trees, creating micro-parks, cleaning beaches, etc., that provide them with a sense of agency while also benefitting the planet.

  • Encouraging active hope.

    Active hope is a method of supporting people’s capacity to make a positive difference in the world, nurturing positivity for mental health and the planet.

  • Improving the energy efficiency of housing.

    This can help to reduce emissions and fuel poverty, while also helping to improve physical and mental health.

  • Shared training of mental health and environmental policy-makers

    Encouraging cross-disciplinary learning can support the development of policies that are win-win for people and planet.

Examples of those already addressing the intersection between climate change and mental health:

Providing ‘anxiety to agency’ workshops to help young people process their thoughts and emotions around the climate crisis and turn their anxiety into action.

Working with Force of Nature and Climate Cares to build a website that hosts resources for young people on the intersection between mental health and climate, and empowers them to share their stories.

Developing a guided journal that aims to help people process their feelings about climate change. Currently being trialed in the UK on 120 people aged 16-24.

Working with Georgetown University to research what’s needed for social change, focusing initially on intergenerational trauma and Integral Ecology. They plan to develop activities to support the wellbeing of environmental change-makers.

A newsletter, written by researcher and author Dr. Britt Wray, about staying sane in the climate crisis.

An online tool and resource hub bringing together changemakers, activists, and clinical psychologists to drive sustainable behavior change for our planet.

A free online course - and soon to be published book - introducing the concept of Active Hope: how to strengthen our capacity to face the climate crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power.

Providing community-building programs designed to nourish positive ecological change whilst also providing inspiration, self-care, and mental health support.

Further examples:

Click here for a downloadable pdf of the above information, including further reading and references for the statistics used within this page.

If you have other examples that you would like to highlight in this page, please contact hello@kokorochange.com.

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