From Eco-Anxiety to Respair: Why Mental Health is Key to Climate Resilience
By Paola Tanguy
Ireland, 1980s. The North beach at Courtown Harbour - Riverchapel stretches wide, its sand pristine and waters clean. A place where families gathered to play, rest, and (re)connect. Fast forward to the 2020s, coastal erosion has wiped the sand away. What remains is not just an uninviting rock armour to guard against further erosion, but a deep sense of loss and sadness among the community that once cherished this place.
It was with this powerful image from his childhood that Chris Phillips of University College Cork’s MaREI Centre introduced participants of the “Mental Health and Climate Change: Addressing Research Gaps, Vulnerability, and Resilience Building” session on Day 3 of ECCA2025 to the concept of ‘solastalgia’, defined by the Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht as the lived experience of distressing, negative environmental change. This opened the door to a deeper exploration into the impacts of climate change on our mental health.
The rise of eco-emotions
As climate change is accelerating and its impacts now felt globally, people worldwide have started to experience its psychological toll, from rising anxiety among young people to trauma following extreme weather events. Nigerian climate advocate and Founder of SustyVibes Jennifer Uchendu, the first panellist, said: “This is now a global health crisis.”
Eco-anxiety, solastalgia, or grief (which can be referred as eco-emotions) are becoming more common, particularly in communities that feel powerless to influence the future of their environments. In Nigeria, over 50% of the youth reported experiencing some forms of eco-anxiety. Yet until recently, the issue received little attention in academic and policy spheres. As panellist Emma Lawrence (Imperial College London) pointed out, only 3% of Nationally Determined Contributions include any reference to mental health. A study published in 2024 showed that not one of the 160 national adaptation policies analysed references children's mental health.
Now, networks like CliMent in Europe, presented by Chiara Cadeddu (Erasmus University Rotterdam), are working to bridge these gaps and enhancing our understanding of how climate change affects mental well-being through an interdisciplinary approach. Launched in 2024, CliMent is a four-year Cost Action, that brings together researchers, practitioners and stakeholders from 24 countries to examine mental health impacts of climate change (such as the rising frequency of heat waves) at both the individual and community level. The initiative co-develops strategies for prevention, coping, and long-term resilience.
Enabling ‘respair’
While climate change often evokes fear or despair, panellists stressed the importance of fostering joy and what Benjamin Norris (University of Queensland) called ‘respair’: a 16th century word that means the return of hope after a period of despair. But when addressing climate-related anxiety, hope alone may not be enough, and can even be counterproductive, it is active hope, built through agency and opportunities to act, that truly supports better mental health. In Nigeria, safe spaces like the Zen Café initiative are supporting young people to process eco-emotions through conversation and training. While lots of healing practices are individual-oriented, interventions that centre human connection are also proving effective. Resilience grows through networks of care, storytelling, and shared purpose.
As Holly Faulkner (University College Cork) pointed out, policy can serve as a form of mental health intervention too. Regulations that improve air quality, ensure housing security or streamline disaster relief processes can significantly reduce psychological stress. When policies anticipate emotional needs, particularly in times of crises, they enable faster and more sustainable recovery.
This also means preparing mental health services to meet the growing demand. Norris argued that health systems must be equipped to support individuals experiencing eco-emotions through inter alia preventive planning, crisis response strategies and tailored interventions. Training professionals in climate-induced trauma will also be key to meeting the needs of affected communities. Care for first responders is also essential, as they are at risk of secondary trauma: look out for those looking out for others.
Looking ahead
Despite recent progress, significant gaps remain in climate and mental health research. For example, Uchendu highlighted that while the mental health crisis generated by climate change is a global phenomenon, it requires nuanced understanding of its regional and cultural differences. Research and responses developed in Western countries do not always translate well to regions like Africa, where climate issues are often interwoven with challenges related to poverty, security and justice.
There is also an urgent need to quantify the mental health costs of climate inaction. These often invisible yet costly impacts must be recognised in policy and budgeting. Without this shift, responses will remain fragmented and insufficient.
To conclude, one clear message emerged from the panellists: in the face of climate change, addressing mental health is no longer optional. Without it, efforts to build climate resilience risk falling short.
Chair
Chris Phillips (MaREI Centre, University College Cork)
Speakers
Alexandra Revez (University College Cork)
Emma Lawrence (Imperial College London)
Benjamin Norris (The University of Queensland)
Jennifer Uchendu (SustyVibes & The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project)
Matteo Innocenti (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Chiara Cadeddu (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
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