Worry, shame, grief, hope

Climate change is such a complicated problem, which makes for complicated emotions

Climate change is a topic which invokes strong emotions. Biologist Michiel Harskamp investigates how youngsters deal with their emotions and insecurities about these big changes. “People continuously have different emotions at the same time. It's a messy sum of snapshots, sometimes you just have a bad day.”

How would you tell about your work at a party?

“I investigate which emotions youngsters have about the climate and which ways they have to deal with those. Do they experience fear, for instance, or are they instead hopeful about future technological solutions? Or have they grown tired of the topic by now and is boredom prevalent? 
Much research has been done into these kinds of feelings. I'm currently looking for a broader perspective on the relationship between emotions and coping strategies. This way, we want to chart the entire complicated, layered issue. People continuously have different emotions at the same time. In order to do that justice, we also have to look into it in multiple ways at the same time too.” 
The researchers use big, representative data sets, generated with questionnaires. This quantitative research is combined with in-depth interviews with pupils. This way, they hope to gain a clear image of the reasons why youngsters feel what they feel. Or, as Michiel puts it: “Just a score, 4.6 on worry for an example, doesn't say that much. Not a single human will recognise themselves in that.”

The research is ongoing, is there already an image forming?

"We see a patchwork of emotions, which changes all the time. Emotions are very difficult to define, especially pubescent children have many things going on at the same time. They're inventing themselves and ‘future’ is still a complicated concept. And then, we're going to ask them questions about big and difficult things, which are still urgent and uncertain on top of that, such as rising sea levels, temperature, the weather and biodiversity. 

In the research project, four specific emotions are looked into: worry, hope, grief, shame. This is why in interviews, the researchers continue to ask further questions in order to get a clear image of what is hiding behind these emotions. 
“Pupils then mention different reasons which coexist, which are supplementary or instead conflicting. Fortunately, we have so far not seen any evidence that this complexity causes eco-paralysis, a sense of powerlessness and paralysis.”

Can you, as an example, describe your own emotional patchwork?

After a brief introspection, Michiel goes over his feelings one at a time. “Much frustration. Good steps are being made, but these are then immediately followed by a step backwards. If you watch the news, you do get the idea we’re slipping back.” He is briefly silent. “And yes, hopeful, that too. Around me in Utrecht, a green and left-wing stronghold after all, I see beautiful things happen. It simply CAN be done differently! If only the world was somewhat more like Utrecht,” he says while laughing. 
“Furthermore… shame about my own choices. We no longer fly privately. Sometimes it's required for work. TheIMP>ACT consortium for climate education, which I am a member of, is a big international partnership. It's then really necessary to meet once in a while. But if it's possible, I take the train. That's so much fun,” he laughs again, “and it takes very long.”

He continues seriously: “As the Netherlands, we should be ashamed too. We're far behind in the field of climate education on primary and secondary schools, internationally speaking. We're really doing poorly compared to other countries. That makes me SO angry. 
With a big group of education experts, we lobby and provide unsolicited advice to politics. Politicians do become a bit sad if their countries score low on such a ranking; we want to utilise that.”
With a sigh: “I feel grief too, it's all so sad. I'm a biologist, I love non-human nature very much. Not everything has to have economic value. We must also occupy ourselves with protecting nature, with what our natural environment is supposed to look like.”

Do youngsters feel the same as you?

“A boy from Frisia told about his little boat, which he had made sustainable himself with an electric engine. He then read somewhere that such an engine wasn't really good after all. That boy was doing so well by himself and despair still struck. That hits me.” 
Michiel tells many pupils pity other people, who are much more affected by the climate crisis, and will be much more affected, than they are. “I was surprised they're already occupying themselves so much with that.”
Loss and grief also reoccur often. “That it never snows again, that they have never skated on natural ice for example. Uncertainty about the future, but the strange, unpredictable weather is also mentioned. Fear of pollution. And a big desire for a sustainable world, or ‘solastalgia’. A kind of homesickness while you're at home.”

Why do you do research into climate emotions?

“Science teachers often don't feel well-equipped to deal with emotions in the classroom. Much and good research is done into sustainability education. Teaching methods are being developed and observed for what works. But how do you give space to the emotions climate change invokes? Especially to scientists, this is often startling. Emotions in Science subjects?! No, that's not right. Well, when it's about climate change, pupils do feel something with that, of course.”
Insight into climate emotions among youngsters can eventually become a part of teaching methods on sustainability and prepare lecturers for the emotional charge of the subject.
“I was also just curious about collaboration with researchers from other disciplines, for instance social scientists and pedagogues. How do they look at climate emotions, from their own methods and practice? We can learn so much from each other if we combine knowledge.”