Course:CONS200/2024WT1/Do we need to be hopeful to engage in climate action? A critical review of the literature on climate hope

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Introduction to Climate Related Emotions

An image of a climate rally photographed by Ben Schumin

It is no secret that climate change is one of the biggest problems facing humanity and as a result one of the important questions that must be answered is do we need to be hopeful to engage in climate action. Human emotions have a significant impact on one's decisions regarding climate action and climate mitigation. Specifically, hope, distress, anxiety, and anger are the emotions that have the most impact on influencing climate behavior and action. In this section, a review of the literature on climate emotions will explore specifically how studies have found that either being hopeful is beneficial for climate change engagement or it has negative effects as some people are hopeful that climate change is not a real problem which leads to climate disengagement [1]. Additionally, the impact of climate anger and anxiety on climate action will be explored.

To begin, most studies and articles reviewed argued that it is almost mandatory to be hopeful to engage effectively in climate action. For example, an article by Morten (2016)[2]states, “Hope is the elixir of action, nevertheless, whereas gloom has limited capacity to motivate effort towards betterment.” Essentially, being hopeful is what inspires people to take action, and being hopeless about the situation typically fails to motivate people to take effective action. In addition, in a meta-analysis of studies on hope and climate engagement, it was found that overall hope was associated with increased climate engagement and taking action. However, the hope that climate change is not a problem was associated with decreased climate action [3]. This exemplifies that for the majority of people, you do need to have hope to engage in climate action but hope that is used to believe that climate change is not a legitimate cause for concern leads to decreased climate action.

Climate distress also has effects on climate action but the relationship is more complex. There is a link between climate distress and climate action but only if the person is low to moderately distressed. As exemplified by a study from Bellew (2023) [4]. It is stated, “Americans who reported climate distress were also much more willing to take climate action compared to those who did not report any distress.” For example, 35% of people who experience climate distress reported that they would join a climate protest against a government or corporation's practices that increased climate change. Whereas 9% of people who are not experiencing climate distress say they would join the climate protest[4]. So people who experience some levels of climate distress are shown to be more willing to take climate action, join climate campaigns, and discuss climate change with friends and family.

Climate anxiety is also related to climate action with the two being positively correlated. Climate anxiety is the fear of climate change's effects on the planet and humanity[5]. This positive correlation between climate anxiety and climate action is supported by several studies. For example, a study with data from 32 countries found that climate anxiety is positively related to pro-environmental behavior and environmental activism. With a higher correlation in richer countries[5]. While climate anxiety and climate action are related, climate anxiety is not a good predictor of all pro-environmental behaviours. Climate anxiety was found to be correlated with more tendency to buy second-hand items, rent or borrow items, and repurpose materials. However, climate anxiety was not positively related to several other pro-environmental behaviours such as the tendency to recycle, buy organic foods, buy products with less packaging, not waste food, and eat less red meat [6]. Overall climate anxiety is correlated with many pro-environmental behaviours and increased environmental activism but is not a good predictor for all pro-environmental behaviours.

Lastly, it has been found in many empirical studies that anger is an action-oriented emotion[7]. The same is found in regards to climate action, there is a positive correlation between climate anger and climate action. Climate anger is often caused by reasons of political inaction, political policies on climate change, as well as the consequences that younger generations will have to face because of humanity's actions[8]. From a study using the Australian national survey data, it was found that people who experience climate anger had a greater engagement in pro-climate activism, behaviours, and better mental health outcomes[9]. It was shown that people who had intense feelings of anger towards climate change were associated with being more likely to take action in regard to climate change. Additionally, climate anger was also correlated to greater engagement in collective action.[9]

Climate Anxiety and its Physiological Impacts

What is Anxiety

A depiction of someone experiencing stress and anxiety. Photographer: Mic445

Before understanding what climate anxiety is and its impacts that it imposes on the human body it is important to first look at how anxiety is defined as well as its physiological impacts. According to the Mayo clinic anxiety is defined as the following, “Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks).”[10] Now with the understanding of what anxiety is defined as, it is important to understand the symptoms of it as well and if there are any noticeable differences between general anxiety disorders and climate anxiety. The Mayo clinic boasts a list of many symptoms of climate anxiety that includes nausea, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, and even leading to interference in your work and social life.

Climate Anxiety's Physiological Impacts  

The symptoms of anxiety caused by climate change or just climate anxiety are pretty much the same as outlined by experts at Yale University “Climate anxiety is fundamentally distress about climate change and its impacts on the landscape and human existence. [...] There is a physiological component that would include heart racing and shortness of breath, and a behavioral component: when climate anxiety gets in the way of one’s social relationships or functioning at work or school.”[11] This explanation from a Yale expert highlights the various nature of climate anxiety, putting emphasis on both of its emotional and physiological impacts. The experts indicate how anxiety related to climate change is not just an abstract concern, but rather it can also manifest in real, physical symptoms such as racing of the heart, and shortness of breath, caused by, the person suffering from anxiety and the body's response to stress caused by the sense of threats coming from climate change. Furthermore, the quote states that behavioral consequences that are linked to climate anxiety can lead to impairment with a person's ability to maintain social relationships or even to perform daily tasks at work or school. This suggests that climate anxiety goes above personal worry, and begins to impact their day to day in life, including problems within their social and professional environments. These physiological impacts highlight the importance of addressing the problem that is posed by climate change and also addressing climate anxieties impact on people. Yale experts also claim that nine percent  of Americans report feeling down, depressed, or hopeless [...] because of global warming. This statistic brings light to the extreme emotional toll that is being placed on people due to climate anxiety.[11] With nearly nine percent of Americans experiencing feelings of depression, or hopelessness linked to global warming. The impact that climate change has on mental health can potentially be overlooked in discussions about climate change and its adverse impacts on the natural world and human livelihoods. However this quote argues that the feeling of hopelessness and depression that stems from climate change leads to significant emotional distress. The feeling of helplessness that is brought on by anxiety related to the effects of climate change, combined with feelings of uncertainty about the future, could exacerbate existing mental health conditions. Additionally, this statistic suggests that climate change is not just an issue that is affecting the natural world, but is also something that is affecting people's physiological well being. All though nine percent  seems like a small number of people affected by climate anxiety, the US population according to the census bureau is approximately 337,528,094 people, as of December 2024,[12] nine percent of their population is roughly 30,380,000 individuals afflicted physiologically by climate anxiety. This is why it is vital to understand and do more research into climate anxiety.

Treatment

With the knowledge of the physiological impacts of climate anxiety what is being done to treat individuals afflicted with this condition. An interview with therapist Jared Knoll who treats individuals affected by climate anxiety, in Maclean’s magazine states that climate anxiety is a systemic threat that cannot be truly treated through therapy. Jared Knoll goes on to say that the best thing to do is let the patients share and give them a place to air out their anger and validate it.[13] Since climate anxiety and therapists treating it is a relatively new field there is likely little research and/or experience in the field to properly treat a patient suffering from climate anxiety.

Climate Hope and its Physiological Impacts

Background

Hope, described as a "cognitive practice that involves the intentional act of setting goals and working toward them with purpose[14], plays a significant role in how people engage with the environment. Climate hope, in particular, refers to maintaining optimism in the face of climate change and believing in a better future despite the challenges[15]. This form of hope may be difficult, it remains possible, even if it is difficult to achieve. People's attitudes have a direct impact on their willingness to act, especially as the world undergoes unprecedented changes[16]. Therefore, it is essential for members of society to understand the effects of climate hope and how it shapes human interactions with the environment. Although climate hope is a relatively new area of research, studies indicate that it can drive change, both through community efforts and political action.[17]

Community

Historically, psychology has found extrinsic motivation and social influence to be leading factors in behaviour, as people are more willing to take action in a collective effort[18]. These findings are applicable to societal influence on hopeful climate driven behaviour, as societal hope is a significant motivator[18]. Collective hope was found to be the most motivating factor for engaging in climate related issues, whereas other motivators such as the problem being resolved through factors beyond individual or collective action, Nature or God, had less of an impact[19]. In addition, people are more likely to feel hopeful if other people share a similar mindset, which applies to the climate[20]. Correspondingly, people are motivated by human nature categories, (42%) which represent the impact of focused hope on individuals and groups working together, excluding corporations and governments.[19] Individuals are more motivated to take action driven by hope in a societal effort, and committed to pro-environmental behaviours, despite shifting responsibility on to other societal leaders with more power[17]. This suggests that the emotional component of hope may play a key role in maintaining pro-environmental behaviour in society even when agency may be limited[1]. When united, citizens are committed and capable of fostering hope regarding climate-related issues, in addition to valuing and supporting one another. This engagement is significant within the public sphere of action, and as active hope is consistently reinforced, it serves as a powerful motivator for taking action and helps protect well-being in the face of climate concerns[21].

Studies suggest that collective action may also protect against adverse mental health outcomes in the context of climate distress[22]. This is significant as 56% of people globally are worried about climate change daily or weekly, with 53% feeling more concern than this past year (2023)[23]. The anxiety brought about by climate change may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and depression[24]. Collective hope is able to combat some of the more severe symptoms of these disorders, and foster a healthy perspective of the climate[24].

Politics and Action

Green Party of Canada known for having more pro environmental positions. Photographer Shaun Merritt

Although climate hope is a more recent researched phenomenon, studies have concluded that hope is positively correlated to climate action[17]. In addition, further regression analyses indicate that constructive hope is a significant predictor of greater support for policies and increased political engagement[17]. Constructive hope is able to influence political intentions, which suggests believing in humanity's ability to tackle climate change, and the awareness that current efforts are inadequate, can be productive and inspire political action[17]. People are more likely to engage in politics that impact the climate, if they maintain hopeful beliefs concerning the future of the environment. Similarly, research found that individuals who feel more hope express stronger support for mitigation policies[25]. A reason people report feeling unhopeful is doubt within the political sphere, belief that the public is being ignorant or misled, or that it is too late[15]. These findings illustrate that people are less willing to aid in efforts to fight climate change if they believe politics either have no influence, or purposely misconstrue climate policies[19]. Furthermore, a lack of hope may undermine an individual's willingness to engage in collective efficacy, which are essential for motivating actions to solve the problem[19]. In conclusion, climate hope is a significant factor in encouraging individuals to take political action, and can promote engagement in sustainability practices.

Comparing Climate Hope and Climate Anxiety

Hope and anxiety are actually very similar emotions. They are both discrete emotions that occur in response to a stimulus which makes them beneficial when it comes to persuasion[26]. Hope and anxiety are both emotions that are primarily related to the future [27],[26]. Both of these emotions motivate a person's actions based on potential future awards or consequences [26]. Hope inspires a person's behavior by motivating action to take advantage of a potential desirable outcome [26],[28]. In contrast, anxiety motivates action in order to avoid an outcome that is not desirable [28]. Specifically, in relation to climate change, climate anxiety is described as anxious feelings that are specifically related to climate change and the climate crisis [27]. Both hope and anxiety in relation to climate change when felt as individual emotions have the potential to lead to climate action but can also lead to climate inaction and passive behavior [27]. Having hope in the face of climate change is beneficial for mental health but it can also lead to disengagement [1]. That being said, climate hope is strongly correlated with self-efficacy beliefs [27]. For example, when young people believe that their self-efficacy is low, they are less likely to take part in climate action [29]. Alternatively, when people are aware of the climate crisis as a significant future threat and have a strong belief that they can have an effect on the future outcome they are more likely to make behavioral changes in regards to climate action [27]. On the other hand, climate anxiety has the potential to lead to pro-climate behavior, but it has a negative correlation with mental health, and very high amounts of stress can also lead to a reduction in anxiety's motivating effects [28]. Therefore, it has been shown that lower, to medium amounts of anxiety in relation to climate change can be helpful but high amounts are non beneficial [28]. It has been proven that feeling both climate hope and anxiety at the same time leads to about a 4% to 5% increase in climate action compared to experiencing either emotion individually [27]. Therefore, having a combination of both climate hope and anxiety is most beneficial when it comes to taking action against climate change [27].

Do We Need to Be Hopeful?

When it comes to engaging in climate change there is evidence that having a sense of hope for the future is beneficial for mental health and can lead to increased action and policy support [30],[28]. However, having too much hopeful optimism can actually be a negative [27],[28]. Too much hope can lead to having a false sense of security and reduce peoples urgency and motivation to engage in environmental action and therefore lead to disengagement [27],[28]. However, without any hope at all one may find themselves experiencing high amounts of climate stress and anxiety which can also reduce climate engagement [27],[28]. Lack of climate hope can lead people to believe that humanity is too optimistic and that overcoming the climate crisis is a challenge too big for society to take on [28]. Therefore it is important that people are hopeful in the face of climate change but also understand the consequences of refraining from taking action.

Photographer: Fabrice Florin

Since it is important that people feel hopeful in regards to taking action against the climate crisis it is also significantly important to understand what can be done to increase hope throughout climate activism. For example, taking part in climate action, technological innovation, and even understanding humanity's capacity for positivity, are all ways to increase hope [28]. In addition to this it is even beneficial just having an understanding of ways to adapt and respond to climate change in the future [28]. Overall, because hope does have a positive relationship with climate action engagement and mental health it is necessary that people stay hopeful in the face of climate change, but at the same time it is important to be aware of the threat to the natural world that climate change produces.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ojala, M (2023). "Hope and climate-change engagement from a psychological perspective". Current Opinion in Psychology.
  2. ↑ Morten, S.R (2016). "On pessimism in Australian ecology". Austral Ecology.
  3. ↑ Geier, N (2023). "Hopium or empowering hope? A meta-analysis of hope and climate engagement". Frontiers in Psychology.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bellew, M (2023). "Is distress about climate change associated with climate action?". Climate Change Communication.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ogunbode, C.A (2022). "Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries". Journal of Environmental Psychology.
  6. ↑ Whitmarsh, L (2022). "Climate anxiety: What predicts it and how is it related to climate action?". Journal of Environmental Psychology.
  7. ↑ Carver, C.S (2009). "Anger is an approach-related affect: Evidence and implications". Psychological bulletin.
  8. ↑ Gregersen, T (2023). "The Strength and content of climate anger" (PDF). Global Environmental Change.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Stanley, S.K (2021). "From anger to action: Differential impacts of eco-anxiety, eco-depression, and eco-anger on climate action and wellbeing". The Journal of Climate Change and Health.
  10. ↑ Mayo Clinic (accessed 12/06/2023). "Anxiety disorders". Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lowe (accessed 12/05/2024). "Yale Experts Explain Climate Anxiety". Yale Sustainability. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ↑ United States Census Bureau (accessed 12/05/2024). "U.S. Population Clock". United States Census Bureau. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ Bai, Stephanie (08/04/2023). "Climate change is here to stay—and climate therapy might be too". Maclean's. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ↑ Arizona State University (June 15, 2021). "The science of hope: More than wishful thinking". ASU News.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Ojala, Maria (2022). "Hope and climate-change engagement from a psychological perspective". Science Direct.
  16. ↑ Malina Petrescu-Mag, Ruxandra; Burny, Philippe; Banatean-Dunea, Ioan; Crina Petrescu, Dacinia (April 2, 2022). "How Climate Change Science Is Reflected in People's Minds. A Cross-Country Study on People's Perceptions of Climate Change". PMC PubMed Central.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Frumkin, Howard (February 2022). "Hope, Health, and the Climate Crisis". ScienceDirect: Journal of Climate Change and Health.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Cohen-Chen, Smadar; Van Zomeren, Martijn (July 2018). "Yes we can? Group efficacy beliefs predict collective action, but only when hope is high".
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Marlon, Jennifer; Bloodhart, Brittany; Ballew, Matthew; Rolfe-Redding, Justin; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Maibach, Edward (May 20, 2019). "How Hope and Doubt Affect Climate Change Mobilization".
  20. ↑ Abramson, Ashley (January 1, 2024). life#:~:text=Stay%20in%20community,that%20overcoming%20difficulty%20is%20possible. "Hope as the antidote" Check |url= value (help). American Psychological Association.
  21. ↑ Vercammen, Ans; Oswald, Tassia; Lawrance, Emma (August 23, 2023). "Psycho-social factors associated with climate distress, hope and behavioural intentions in young UK residents". National Library of Medecine.
  22. ↑ Schwartz, Sarah; Benoit, Laelia; Clayton, Susan; Parnes, Mckenna; Swenson, Lance; Lowe, Sarah (January 16, 2022). "Climate change anxiety and mental health: Environmental Activism as buffer" (PDF). Current Psychology.
  23. ↑ "The world's largest survey on climate change is out – here's what the results show". United Nations Development Program: Global Climate Promise. June 27, 2024.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Betro, Sophia (October 17, 2024). "From eco-anxiety to eco-hope: surviving the climate change threat". Frontiers: Perspective arcticle.
  25. ↑ Leiserowitz, A; Smith, N (2014). "The role of emotion in global warming policy support and opposition". APA PsycNet.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Chadwick, Amy (Fall 2014). "Toward a Theory of Persuasive Hope: Effects of Cognitive Appraisals, Hope Appeals, and Hope in the Context of Climate Change". Health Communication. 30.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.6 27.7 27.8 27.9 Sangervo, Jylha, Pihkala, Julia, Kirsti, Panu (Fall 2022). "Climate anxiety: Conceptual considerations, and connections with climate hope and action". Global Environmental Change. 76 – via Science Direct.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ 28.00 28.01 28.02 28.03 28.04 28.05 28.06 28.07 28.08 28.09 28.10 Troy, Norman, Kim, Skurka, Myrick, Cassandra, Megan, Nahyun, Chris, Jessica (Summer 2024). "Can you picture it? Effects of positive and negative depictions of climate futures on climate action intentions". Journal of Environmental Psychology. 96 – via Science Direct.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ↑ O'Brien, Selboe, Hayward, Karen, Elin, Bronwyn. "Exploring youth activism on climate change: dutiful, disruptive, and dangerous dissent". Ecology and Society. 23.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ↑ Feldman, Hart, Lauren, P. Sol (Summer 2017). "Is There Any Hope? How Climate Change News Imagery and Text Influence Audience Emotions and Support for Climate Mitigation Policies". Risk Analysis. 38 – via Wiley Online Library.


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