Climate Change: How can we Choose Hope?

26 IMPACT Climate Change: How Can You Choose Hope?

The impact of climate change offers a bleak outlook for the future. Anna Boyne and Lucy Woodward sat down with climate scientists Amy Wright, Professor Greg Marsden and Dr Sofie Sjögersten to gain an insight into how climate change affects those studying it.

The climate crisis is more than an environmental disaster. The devastation that’s being inflicted on our planet is also a cause of widespread mental turmoil. Given that their research is fixated on the issue, it is climate scientists that are particularly vulnerable to this epidemic of climate depression and anxiety. How can we expect scientists to also be experts in detachment, able to separate themselves from the personal aspect of this issue? How can they choose hope after uncovering the extent of the potential damage we’re inflicting on the planet?

Sharing the voices of those on the frontline of climate research is an important way to look for answers to these questions; they are the ones experiencing the real highs and lows of this work. Amy Wright, a PhD student at Anglia Ruskin University, told Impact: “Before I started my Environmental Science Research Masters, I remember being so excited about the potential for my research and believing that it could be game-changing if it worked.”

Amy Wright’s work investigated the efficacy of Iron Oxides for aiding carbon storage in soils, which could be an effective way to sequester harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. And after a year of research, the science was clear. It worked. However, in the face of the devastation of climate change, she was faced with the realisation that it wouldn’t be enough. “I felt so disheartened when I realised that, even though this technique could aid the movement as an effective solution, it’d still be insignificant in the scale of the damage we’re causing,” said Wright.

It’s no wonder, then, that climate scientists are experiencing mental health challenges. Investing their time, finances and emotional strength to find solutions for an issue they deeply care about carries a meaningful weight to it. Yet, everyday the magnitude of the problem keeps growing, and little is being done to reverse it. Prof. Greg Marsden, an expert in Transport Governance, is researching a better future for the UK’s transport systems. He told Impact: “I went to the Scottish Climate Strike discussion at COP26 and cried at the level of worry our young people are feeling and their despair at the lack of action. I don’t think these conversations are happening enough – I think far too many people don’t get that this is an emergency.”

The continual feeling of fighting a losing battle is prevalent amongst climate scientists and must be a difficult thing to shake off. Especially when months, years, or even decades of research that holds potential for enormous positive change is ignored and disregarded by policymakers and governments. One of countless examples of this is global travel. Prof. Marsden explained that: “Globally, more movement is leading to more CO2 emissions. However, policymakers are struggling to move away from a world where travelling more was seen as a right and an unquestionable good for society to a world which sees climate as a constraint.” “The car lobby, the infrastructure building lobby, the fossil fuel suppliers,theaviationandleisureindustriesandtheinvestment banks all have a vested interest in only minor tweaks to ‘Business as Usual’ when the science says otherwise. All the time, messages are ignored, and science is used selectively.”

How can we expect researchers to remain mentally healthy when, after tirelessly researching solutions for our survival, they are slapped in the face by denial, pessimism and worse, indifference? How can they maintain hope, work-life balance and mental fortitude? Striking a work-life balance can be a challenge for everyone, but the immediacy of global warming makes it even more difficult for climate scientists. The trials and tribulations of their work follow them outside the workplace.

Dr Sofie Sjögersten, Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Nottingham, explained to Impact how she navigates talking about her work in social situations: “When I’m asked, then I will share my views, but I’ve been a little bit burned out by people as well. You say this is what you do when you’re at a party and then everybody wants to discuss it and have an opinion against it, and it makes you a bit vulnerable.”

Since starting research into climate change in 1998, Dr Sjögersten has been witness to a huge shift in attitudes towards the issue – from only an awareness of global warming amongst the scientific community, to a growing acceptance of the need to implement change. However, regularly dealing with climate change deniers can be draining. Instead, she prefers to share anecdotes of her adventures: being attacked by arctic terns, hissed at by boa constrictors and getting lost in the jungle in Panama, to name just a few.

“It’s not that I don’t talk about my work, but I try to talk about it in a positive way and about how the natural world is a wonderful thing. For me, personally, it’s provided me with my livelihood and adventure. I think I try to invoke a sense of wonder in people and appreciation of what nature does, because I think that’s much easier for people to engage with.”

Compartmentalising can be a useful tool for distinguishing between work, home and social life. Dr Sjögersten stressed the importance of knowing both the responsibilities and limitations of her role. Her position means she is entrusted with finding data which can provide solid evidence for the people working on the information campaigns, but it is the task of others to communicate this data in a digestible way to the population.

Prof. Marsden shared a similar outlook on distinguishing between job roles. “I’ve not made the decision to be a politician or civil servant, so I have to recognise their worlds and try to exert my influence in a different way,” he explained. The weight of personal responsibility tends to lead to a desire to take on too many roles, but this mentality of doing what you’re best suited to seems to be an effective method for avoiding burnout.

Dr Sjögersten tries to see the magnificence of scientific discoveries despite the often-worrying results. If work becomes overwhelming, however, she will usually turn to her network of peers and colleagues. “I think it is really important to have a team of people that you know around you and supporting you who understand the challenges and the worries.” Rather than viewing the climate crisis in a fatalistic manner, it is touching to see how Dr Sjögersten finds such purpose and drive in her research. She told Impact: “I’m working harder than I would have done if I didn’t have the sense that this is important for my children’s future.” We all have a role to play in tackling global warming, and climate scientists are an integral part of this. It should be our responsibility to listen to their professional advice, especially when the evidence points to a crisis, and we’d rather pretend everything will resolve itself. It is unsurprising that so many climate scientists are experiencing feelings of depression and demoralisation. From speaking to scientists from a range of fields of study and stages in their career, it is clear we must acknowledge the science, support further research and look after the wellbeing of those carrying out the work our children’s futures depend on.

By Anna Boyne and Lucy Woodward

Illustration by Katelanne Wint Page Design by Ciara Lurshay