‘This is the hottest day of my life’ Bart says. Homer leans in with a half-smile and says, ‘The hottest day of your life so far.’
This climate doom meme is everywhere. It’s one of thousands poking nihilistic fun at a climate apocalypse. The news is more serious, every day showing a worsening situation and severe climate events. The impact of all this growing coverage was revealed this week when Google shared that searches for ‘climate anxiety’ have soared 565 percent over the past 12 months.
Market researchers have tracked this growing concern for decades. A Ipsos Global Trends survey is conducted at the start of each year. In the 2023 report, an average of 80 percent of respondent in 50 countries agreed that “We are heading towards an environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly.” I’ve long said that I’m more worried about growing fatalism than I am of global warming itself. Climate change is just chemistry, human consciousness is much more complicated.
The difference is that these Google searches aren’t about ‘climate change science’ or even ‘climate crisis’ (although they’ve grown too). All those people are tapping into Google’s search box about their own mental state, or because they are worried about their children’s eco-anxiety. People are now seeking emotional solace and psychological support. I doubt they are getting much in response to those searches. At best, some article on ‘how to cope’ with impending disaster.
But, there’s another fascinating finding about our online activity which suggests a solution. Last year SKY research revealed that in the UK, nearly one in three people search for positive and uplifting content on social media every single day. From #HopeCore positive quotes to cat videos, nostalgia stories to random acts of kindness, people spend on average two hours each day seeking out positive content, increasing to almost four hours for those aged 16-24.
The greatest secret of course is that climate action will deliver exactly that happiness boost people are spending so much time looking for. When someone searches ‘climate anxiety’ the first page of results should be about the health benefits of a sustainable diet, how renewables can lift people out of poverty, that solar will make us safer and that ’15 min cities’ will give you more time in your day.
Too often we forget to sell the huge emotional benefits of climate action. Just last year the IPCC report set out how enacting huge climate infrastructure changes would improve progress towards almost every Sustainable Development Goal. From health to livelihoods, gender equality to national security – climate action makes the world a better place.
And that means a happier place. We know that in countries closer to meeting the SDGs, people are already happier. This is the message climate communicators too often forget. Even when we sell ‘visions’ they tend to be clinical or technological utopias. We don’t tell people how they will feel in that future. We must allow climate solutions for the heart.
Shoulders a bit more relaxed. Getting better sleep because you’re healthier. Excited about your kid’s future. Taking big deep breaths. Having time to daydream rather than rush about. Smiling with pride rather than riddled with guilt. There are so many more benefits if we build in how it feels to live with some green space, renewably powered, with neighbourhood resources in a world you’re not constantly reminded is going to burn.
Great initiatives are already working into this nexus, like the inner development goals and Dr Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s TED talk on climate joy. We need so many more people leaning into the emotional benefits of our great low-carbon transformation.
The next time someone taps ‘climate anxiety’ into Google, I hope they find a host of resources about how climate action = happiness.
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