Climate communicators risk overwhelming people or placing too much guilt on individuals if they fail to acknowledge the emotional impact of climate change, according to Linda Aspey from the Climate Psychology Alliance.
Speaking on CIWM’s Beyond Waste podcast, Aspey said climate communication needs to move beyond simply giving people more facts or telling individuals what they should do.
In the episode, titled Climate Emotions: How Climate Change Makes Us Feel and What We Do With It, CIWM’s Trang Dang spoke to Aspey about climate psychology, eco-emotions and the role of communication in helping people respond to the climate crisis.
Aspey said emotions such as anxiety, anger, grief, despair and helplessness can all shape the way people respond to climate change, but warned that these feelings can become overwhelming if they are suppressed, dismissed or left unspoken.
She said emotions such as despair, anger and rage can “fuel people into action”, but added that people need ways to acknowledge and talk about what they are feeling.
During the conversation, Aspey also warned against climate messaging that places too much responsibility on individual behaviour change, rather than recognising the need for wider systems change.
Society can, and certainly those in power, can use language that passes the responsibility entirely to us. That we have to reduce our carbon footprint, so to speak. Now those actions do matter, but we obviously need big systems change.
She said: “Society can, and certainly those in power, can use language that passes the responsibility entirely to us. That we have to reduce our carbon footprint, so to speak. Now those actions do matter, but we obviously need big systems change.
“And that can leave us with the burden of guilt. So that kind of language can be wrong and very harmful.”
Aspey said climate communicators often face a difficult balance between conveying the seriousness of the crisis and avoiding messaging that makes people feel powerless.
She said different messages work for different people, adding that shocking information may prompt one person to act but cause another to switch off entirely.
The podcast also explored the limitations of a “facts first” approach to climate communication. Aspey said communication has often been treated as an “information deficit”, where people are expected to act once they are given enough evidence.
However, she said this does not work for everyone, particularly when climate information threatens people’s sense of safety, identity or connection.
“What people want to know is, first of all, they need to understand what it means for their safety,” she said. “Fundamentally, we’re hardwired to seek safety and we’re hardwired to seek connection.”
Aspey said building resilience in response to climate change should not be understood simply as “bouncing back” from disruption, but as something communities develop together.
She described resilience as “the glue that holds people together”, arguing that people need spaces to talk about difficult feelings, manage conflict and build what she called “cultures of care”.
The episode also considered the role of storytelling, language, nature connection and the psychological challenge of moving away from a culture built around endless growth.
Aspey said the Climate Psychology Alliance offers support spaces, youth spaces, climate café listening circles and training for organisations and communities.
The full episode of Beyond Waste is available to listen to now here.