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Climate anxiety is about more than just personal risks

Nature Climate Change volume 13, page 591 (2023)Cite this article

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The Earth’s climate is changing with devastating consequences, leading many people across the world to worry1. For some people, these worries turn into climate anxiety: pervasive and difficult-to-control worries about the climate, accompanied by complaints such as tension and trouble sleeping2. In a recent Comment, Fyke and Weaver3 argue that, instead of addressing the symptoms of climate anxiety by psychological coping, individuals should focus on taking away the root causes of their climate anxiety. Fyke and Weaver suggest that these root causes are people’s worries about personal impacts of climate change on themselves and their loved ones, and that the solution to reducing climate anxiety therefore lies in implementing adaptation measures to reduce or avoid these personal climate change impacts.

We agree that climate anxiety represents a key impact of climate change, and that more research is needed to understand how to help people that experience climate anxiety. Yet, we challenge the idea that people only experience climate anxiety because they are worried about the risks that climate change poses to them and their loved ones. At least in the Global North, many people experience climate anxiety primarily out of concern for others and the natural world. For example, people who experience high levels of climate anxiety were most worried about the large-scale global consequences of climate change, including the mass extinction of animals, widespread famine, the deaths of millions and that the planet would become unlivable4. People who were asked to write down their worries about climate change focused more on general risks to people’s and animals’ well-being than personal risks5. Worries about the well-being of others and the environment were more strongly associated with climate anxiety than personal concerns, and when controlling for other factors, worry about the environment was a unique predictor of climate anxiety6. Interviews also reveal a focus on the global and societal consequences of climate change and impacts on animals and vulnerable populations over fear of personal exposure to risks7,8.

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  1. Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

    Anne M. van Valkengoed & Linda Steg

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  1. Anne M. van Valkengoed
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  2. Linda Steg
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Correspondence to Anne M. van Valkengoed.

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van Valkengoed, A.M., Steg, L. Climate anxiety is about more than just personal risks. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 591 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01718-0

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