Project Description
Eco-Anxiety
How do you feel about climate change and nature loss?
What is good about being out in nature?
What are the implications of global warming and biodiversity loss for pastoral care?
As we witness the many ways the Earth has been exploited and damaged, how do we hold space for the sorrow, anger, and guilt we may feel?
These and lots more fascinating questions in this area of concerns. How people think and feel about what is happening to our world is the fastest growing area of psychological research. Eco-anxiety as a new psychological phenomenon pervasive among many, particularly the younger generations. It has been acknowledged as a major source of distress – it can either lead to motivation to change or it can paralyse people in fear and depression.
Eco-Anxiety as a Recent Phenomenon
Nature, 2024.04.10
The rise of eco-anxiety: scientists wake up to the mental-health toll of climate change
Researchers want to unpick how climate change affects mental health around the world — from lives that are disrupted by catastrophic weather to people who are anxious about the future.
Christianity Today, 2024.04
Eco-Anxiety is Crippling Gen Z. How Can We Move Forward?
“As a young farmer, I feel my chest tighten as I watch weather patterns and the seasons become more and more erratic. I worry if there’ll be wars for food and water with a warmer climate, or if water sources will be polluted and the soil will be eroded.
Many people, especially my age, feel the same way. A recent survey asked 10,000 young people across the world about their thoughts and feelings regarding climate change. According to the findings, three out of four young people think the future is frightening. More than half reported feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, and powerlessness when thinking about climate change. And around 45 percent of respondents said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning.
These fears have become so prevalent in our generation that a new term has been coined: eco-anxiety.” Read on…
The Lancet, 2021.09.07
[Major Research Paper] Young People’s Voices on Climate Anxiety, Government Betrayal and Moral Injury: A Global Phenomenon
Climate change has significant implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to increased climate anxiety. Qualitative studies show climate anxiety is associated with perceptions of inadequate action by adults and governments, feelings of betrayal, abandonment and moral injury. This study offers the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally and its relationship to government response. 10,000 young people (aged 16-25 years) in ten countries were surveyed. Data were collected on their thoughts and feelings about climate change, and government response.
Resources from A Rocha
Alone in a World of Wounds: Living with Ecological Grief | 2020.10.09
This panel explores the lived experience of ecological grief and seeks to foster conversation on how we might engage in this grief in ways that promote sustainability and wellbeing as humans who care for Creation.
Ecological Grief and Exploring Hope: A Panel Discussion | 2021.04.30
Ecological grief is one of the ways of acknowledging and mourning the land, people, plants, and animals which we have lost to climate change. Lament is a powerful communal act that helps us acknowledge sorrow and leads us away from despair. Ultimately, lament is a profoundly hopeful act that provides us with a way forward, knowing that change is possible through new ways of being and faith in the God of Creation. Through taking the time to mourn the earth, we step forward in hope and action towards restoration and new life, for the land and for ourselves as human beings.
A Rocha UK | May 2021
Climate grief and pastoral care: Processing grief for the planet
This webinar includes thoughts and reflections to help us explore topics of grief, lament and hope in relation to the climate crisis and loss of nature. A resource pack on Climate Grief and Pastoral Care is also available from Climate Sunday – it includes how to host a service on this theme.
A Rocha UK | May 27, 2021
Climate anxiety and the Church
A blogpost by Helen Stephens, Church Relations Manager for Eco Church, A Rocha UK.
A Rocha New Zealand, the Hope Seminar, Christchurch NZ, September 2021
Shalom: Wellbeing and Climate Change. With speakers:
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- Peter Carrell, Bishop of Christchurch
- Kahurangi Carter, Co-ordinator for Para Kore zero waste organisation
- Michael Apathy, psychotherapist at Lucid Psychotherapy in Christchurch & climate activist with Extinction Rebellion
- Kristel van Houte, National Director of A Rocha Aotearoa NZ and the Karioi Project
- Silvia Purdie, Convenor for A Rocha Christchurch local group and Place Sustainability Consultant.
A Rocha Blog, A Rocha International | March 31, 2019
Eco-anxiety: The psychological and spiritual toll of the environmental crisis
A short blog entry on the A Rocha Blogs by Panu Pihkala. His interdisciplinary research deals with the psychological and spiritual dimensions related to environmental issues and especially climate change. Pihkala has become known as an expert in eco-anxiety.
Panu Pihkala, Dr. Theol., is a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Helsinki and has worked with A Rocha Finland for years. His book on Eco-anxiety and Hope, published with acclaim in Finland in October 2017, is currently being translated into English.
Another article by Panu Pihkala on this topic: Climate grief: How we mourn a changing planet – from the BBC exploring ‘Climate Emotions’
A Rocha Blog, A Rocha International | May 31, 2022
Is being a despairing Christian an oxymoron? Some lessons from Elijah, written by Liz Marsh, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, studying the theology of hope in the context of ecological crisis.
A Rocha Blog, A Rocha International | March 1, 2022
Counting the cost: the emotional toll of environmental campaigning, written by Bryony Loveless, formerly Communications Assistant and Policy Researcher for A Rocha International.
A Rocha New Zealand | September 2021
Climate Change and Mental Health, a two-part webinar by A Rocha New Zealand’s Christchurch local group convenor, Silvia Purdie.
More from the Christian Perspectives
Edited by Hannah Malcolm
Words for a Dying World: Stories of Grief and Courage from the Global South, SCM Press, 2020
How do we talk about climate grief in the church? And when we have found the words, what do we do with that grief? There is a sudden and dramatic rise in people experiencing a profound sense of anxiety in the face of our dying planet, and a consequent need for churches to be better resourced pastorally and theologically to deal with this threat. Words for a Dying World brings together voices from across the world – from the Pacific islands to the pipelines of Canada, from farming communities in Namibia to activism in the UK. Contributors include Anderson Jeremiah, Azariah France-Williams, David Benjamin Blower, Holly-Anna Petersen, Isabel Mukonyora, Jione Havea, and Maggi Dawn.
Green Christian | June 4, 2021
Eco-anxiety and climate grief are major issues for anyone who cares about our planet, and if you are feeling anxious, be assured that you are not alone. Green Christian is developing resources to help Christians and churches to deal with these deep emotional responses to the climate and ecological emergencies.
Deborah will be introducing us to some of the key aspects of climate grief and eco-anxiety, as well as explaining how Deep Waters can help with exploring this in a safe and structured way, enabling people to discover renewed courage, clarity and purpose. Deep Waters is part of Green Christian’s Borrowed Time project.
Deborah Tomkins is Co-Chair of Green Christian, and has been a member for over 25 years. She lives in Bristol with her husband. She enjoys growing organic vegetables in her city garden, music, and books.
Climate Sunday
Climate Grief and Pastoral Care Resource Pack – includes the “how-to” on hosting a service on this theme.
Hazelnut Community (UK) | July 31, 2021
Christian Hope, Eco-anxiety and Climate Activism – Cate Williams
For an eco-activist to continue to work for the wellbeing of all-creation, they need to have hope that their efforts are worthwhile. Hope is critical, to provide energy and momentum to the work, and to counter eco-anxiety and burnout. This paper is rooted in fieldwork carried out in Stroud just prior to Extinction Rebellion coming into mainstream awareness, with local activists in Stroud key to the development of XR. It explores, within the complexity of religiously plural partnerships, the place of hope in sustaining activists. Particular reference is made to how Christian hope can offer resources not just to Christians but also to the wider community of activists.
Cate Williams, Environmental Engagement Officer for Gloucester Diocese, has recently completed a PhD studying pioneer ministry. She is the Diocesan lead for plans towards carbon net zero by 2030 and the A Rocha Eco Diocese silver and gold awards, the Diocese having achieved the bronze award in early 2021. In addition, she is the author of the Grove booklet on Forest Church, and facilitator of both a local Forest Church and a community conservation volunteering group. She is an associate tutor for Cheltenham: Gloucester and Cuddesdon.
Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) Ministries, UK | July 4, 2021
Three types of hope: Combating environmental hopelessness and fatigue
In the second of our new series of articles on environmental issues and the climate emergency, environmental biologist Martin Hodson suggests there are three types of hope to sustain us in our efforts to avert environmental catastrophe
Anvil Journal of Theology and Mission, Church Mission Society | September 2013
With articles from theologians, scientists, conservation practitioners, and church leaders from the Global South and Developed World.
Other Resources and References
The Spinoff | February 7, 2023
Eco-anxiety is a normal response to disaster. Denial isn’t the answer – By Shanti Mathias
In a reality shaped by climate crisis, the article explores how to think and feel about the changed present – and the changing future – without spiralling into despair. One point noted was: “that acting towards hope is about changing the narrative of climate crisis.“
The Guardian | January 12, 2023
‘If you win the popular imagination, you change the game’: why we need new stories on climate – by Rebecca Solnit
“So much is happening, both wonderful and terrible – and it matters how we tell it. We can’t erase the bad news, but to ignore the good is the route to indifference or despair.”
The Commons Social Change Library
Resources to Cope With Climate Anxiety and Grief
As more climate change impacts are felt and people become increasingly aware of the challenging future we face it is understandable that many people are experiencing anxiety, grief and a myriad of other feelings. The resources in this pack are provided to increase understanding of the emotional and psychological impacts of climate change and to promote the range of coping strategies available.
Corrymeela Community | December 16, 2021
The Hope Project, with Rebecca Dudley
Speaking in this webinar with her personal capacity as a Corrymeela member, Rebecca Dudley offered the community an Advent seminar on the ‘psychological first aid’ we need to deal with the trauma of the present moment. She shared with us her ‘Hope Project’.
Dr. Rebecca Dudley works in New Zealand with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement helping to protect vulnerable people in humanitarian emergencies. She is an ordained Presbyterian Minister (PCUSA, Chicago) with a degree in History from Yale, Theology from Union Seminary in New York, and international law PhD from Queen’s Belfast.
David Suzuki Foundation – Building and sustaining resilience