As soon as the media on COVID calmed down, it was replaced by fear-inducing articles about climate change. The big COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in late 2021 also put climate change on the top of everyone’s worry list. “This is our last chance to save the planet” was the main theme. “We must act now or everything will be destroyed.”

Climate change makes many people more anxious than COVID does

Not surprisingly, this news has made many people extremely anxious. Studies have showed that even in the midst of the uncertainty of a public health pandemic, concern about climate change significantly exceeded COVID-19. Study authors said, “These attitudes were consistent across countries rich and poor, big and small: from the United States and the United Kingdom to Brazil, the Philippines, India and Nigeria.”

This fear has a name: eco-anxiety.

The American Psychological Association defines eco-anxiety as: “the chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change and the associated concern for one’s future and that of next generations”

But is it as bad as we fear?

Dr Hannah Ritchie, Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University, says no.

In her article, Stop Telling Kids They Will Die From Climate Change, Ritchie points out the gap between the data and the fear-mongering.

“Let’s be clear: Climate change is one of the biggest problems we face,” says Ritchie. “It comes with many risks – some certain, some uncertain – and we’re not moving anywhere near fast enough to reduce emissions. But there seems to have been a breakdown in communication of what our future entails.”

She says things aren’t as bad as we think, and that the media messaging of certain death is making things worse. Too many people are claiming that humanity will be wiped out and annihilation is locked in, says Ritchie. “The worst thing about this message is that, rather than inspiring action, it resigns us to the falsehood that we are already too late. There is now nothing we can do.”

Ritchie points out a few key truths:

- Although government action on climate change is moving slowly, at least it’s moving and “at an increasing pace”.

- “Politicians might be slow, but technological change is not.” Renewable energy such as solar and wind power is now cheaper than coal.

- Death rates from disasters have fallen significantly over the past century. We have better technology and higher resilience to natural disasters.

So what can we do about our own eco-anxiety?

Ecotherapist Phoenix Smith says the first step is to acknowledge your feelings of fear and despair. These are a normal response to this sense of crisis, and there is no point trying to inject optimism and brush aside your negative feelings.

These feelings may be complex and intense, but only by recognising them can you begin to address them.

Then, work on balancing your over-activated nervous system. Try deep breathing mediation or yoga, and if you can, getting out into nature.