WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Climate distress can be deeply painful. If you’ve ever felt the mental health impacts of climate change or environmental issues, you are not alone. In recent years, there has been a growing focus on learning how to navigate the mental and emotional terrain of living in a changing climate. Moms Clean Air Force has compiled resources to help parents and caregivers navigate their eco-emotions. This includes information on how to support the young people in our lives, how to cultivate climate hope, and more.
Moms Clean Air Force is also working with our partners at Schools for Climate Action to support two congressional resolutions that will help ensure young people have access to the resources they need to thrive in a changing climate. And we are calling on Congress to support mental wellness resources for communities hit by climate disaster.
RELATED RESOURCES
WHY WE CARE
While parents, grandparents, and caregivers may experience the mental health impacts of climate change in unique ways, we all love the children in our lives. We want them to experience safety and a sense of well-being. It can be extraordinarily painful to learn about the ways climate change threatens the future we want for our children. We worry about how to talk to our kids about climate change, how to help them navigate their own climate distress, and how to help them cultivate resilience in the face of an uncertain future.
HEALTH IMPACTS
Climate change and other environmental crises are increasingly affecting families’ mental health. Research suggests that women tend to be more worried about climate change than men. And young people, who will be most affected by the climate impacts of the future, are overwhelmingly concerned about climate change: a 2021 study of young people around the world found that 84% were at least moderately worried about climate change, with 59% reporting very or extremely high levels of worry.
More and more of us are directly experiencing climate impacts, which can cause stress, trauma, lingering anxiety and depression, and even heightened suicide risk.
A study of young people around the world found that
84% were at least moderately worried about climate change,
with 59% reporting very or extremely high levels of worry.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Climate change and mental health is a broad, emergent field. The impacts of climate change on our mental health are not distributed evenly. Communities of color and low-income communities are often affected first and worst by climate disasters and bear a disproportionate burden of climate distress.
BACK STORY
In 2021, more than 40% of people in the US lived in a county that experienced a climate-related extreme weather event. According to the American Public Health Association, up to 50% of people exposed to an extreme weather disaster are at risk of adverse mental health impacts. As research around climate distress—and climate hope—grows, Moms will continue to be part of the conversation.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES BY TOPIC
We’ve compiled information from trusted sources across the web related to specific topics. These lists were last updated in July 2023 and will be kept up-to-date as more information and science emerges.
1. Navigating climate distress and other eco-emotions
2. Supporting children and youth
4. Preventing and healing from climate burnout
5. Learning more about climate change, environmental justice, and mental health