From eco-anxiety to climate-related trauma, stress-related disorders and loss of cultural identity, the mental health impacts of a warming planet are wide-ranging and increasingly urgent. The World Health Organization (WHO) has even recognized global environmental trends as a major threat to mental wellbeing, particularly for young people, frontline communities and those in vulnerable settings.
But the systems that are supposed to respond remain chronically underfunded. Governments spend just 2.1% of their health budgets on mental health, which also receives less than 1% of international health aid.
Despite this challenge, communities around the world are responding. From youth-led support circles to community-rooted interventions, innovative programmes are emerging to address the mental health dimensions of environmental challenges.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s important to highlight the efforts that are making a difference on the ground. The following five real-world examples show how groups around the world are working to build a healthier, more sustainable future.
1. Making mental health a policy priority
More countries now recognize the link between mental health and shifting climate patterns, but very few have plans for how to address it. United for Global Mental Health calls on countries to ensure mental health is integrated across policies that respond to adverse weather events.
This is particularly important this year because countries are submitting the third iteration of their climate plans under the Paris Agreement. These Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are important tools for coordinated global environmental action. According to the WHO, however, only five out of 193 country NDCs currently include a reference to mental health.
To support policy-makers in integrating mental health into NDCs, United for Global Mental Health has launched a report that provides concrete recommendations and suggested wording on opportunities for integration. From agriculture to transport and from education to waste, integrating environmental considerations across sectors within NDCs can help unlock extensive co-benefits for mental health.
Protecting mental health is inextricably linked to ambitious climate mitigation. Without decisive action to address the climate crisis, both the planet and the physical and mental wellbeing of communities remain at risk. The NDC process offers an opportunity for countries to elevate their climate commitments, safeguarding not only ecosystems, but also all aspects of human health.
2. Tackling eco-anxiety in Africa
Around two thirds (66%) of young Nigerians experience eco-anxiety, while over 45% need access to support, according to 2022 research by The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project (TEAP).
As this organization has expanded its research and youth-led dialogues across the continent, it has become clear that young people in regions facing climate events, political instability and electricity poverty are grappling with anxiety, as well as grief, anger, PTSD and, in some cases, suicidal ideation.
TEAP equips African youth with the skills to drive change, which creates both resilience and hope. It runs ZenCafe sessions in Lagos, where young people come together to share experiences, gain community and build resilience. ZenGuardians, an upcoming 10-week training programme in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa, will enable young activists to lead ZenCafe sessions in their communities. TEAP also honours the role of intergenerational wisdom by creating spaces for young and old to meet to exchange knowledge and foster collective hope in a time of uncertainty.
This work matters because mental health informs how people adapt to and survive climate events. By centring local realities, TEAP ensures African perspectives on environmental challenges and mental health are recognised within the global climate movement.
TEAP’s Climate Elders gather in Lufasi Park in Lekki, Nigeria in February 2023Image: TEAP
3. Using diverse perspectives to assess wellbeing impacts
The International Neuro Climate Working Group (NCWG) was founded in 2024 to harness diverse perspectives to address the impacts of environmental change on neurological and mental wellbeing. It brings together a community of scientists, clinicians, policy-makers and public health experts from 40 countries.
In just one year, NCWG has created a comprehensive report on shifting climate patterns and brain health (available soon) and launched new research collaborations. It has also developed educational tools and elevated brain health on global stages such as the UN General Assembly, WHO global conferences and at COP.
NCWG is now building on this momentum with a new community-driven initiative. Partnering with frontline communities, it is documenting traditional adaptation strategies, deepening epidemiological and biological research and co-creating culturally grounded, scaleable interventions. The aim is to protect brain health, foster resilience and empower communities to thrive amid a rapidly changing environmental landscape.
NCWG’s upcoming science report summarizes evidence of how climate change impacts brain health.Image: Burcin Ikiz, International Neuro Climate Working Group
4. Creating a research hub for climate-mental health
The Climate Cares Centre, hosted by Imperial College London, seeks to deepen understanding and address the interconnections between climate and environmental disruptions and mental health through research, policy, education and intervention design.
The centre raises global awareness of the nexus between climate change and mental health, while advocating for policy integration. Its contributions include organizing mental health events at the last four COP conferences, authoring academic and policy papers, hosting cross-sector workshops and international dialogues, and driving media advocacy. A key outcome of this work is the inclusion of mental health and wellbeing in the COP28 UAE Declaration on climate and health.
Research and action must be led by those directly affected and so the initiative collaborates with students and educators to embed mental health into climate education. It also partners with young people in Australia, the Philippines, the UK, the Caribbean and East Africa to explore lived experiences and to co-design and pilot context-specific support mechanisms.
Connecting Climate Minds is a global initiative from the Climate Cares Centre. To date, the initiative has convened over 1,180 contributors across 126 countries, including more than 300 people with lived experience. This has led to research and action agendas addressing the mental health impacts of shifting climate patterns. These agendas, along with stories of lived experiences, global case studies, practical toolkits and collaborative spaces, are hosted on the initiative’s Global Online Hub to spur action and foster cross-sector collaboration.
Participants in the Connecting Climate Minds global event, which has successfully developed strong transdisciplinary communities around the world.Image: Connecting Climate Minds, 2024
5. Identifying emotions arising from environmental disruptions
Why is naming your climate emotions important? Because identifying and interpreting your emotions is the first step to effectively coping with them.
Climate Mental Health Network, a group of community advocates, highlights the mental health impacts of environmental shifts through education, community engagement, media and technology. In 2023, the network launched a Climate Emotions Wheel to help people identify emotions arising from environmental disruptions.
The wheel concept is based on a 2022 paper by Dr. Panu Pihkala’s, Toward a Taxonomy of Climate Emotions, and the “feelings wheel” model – a visual tool that helps people organize emotions by dividing them into core feelings such as happiness and sadness and then more nuanced emotions like loneliness or hope.
The Climate Emotions Wheel is available in 30 languages and has been shared globally. It is regularly used in workshops, classrooms and conferences, particularly by activists, educators and students.
The Climate Emotions Wheel is a visual aid that helps people identify emotions arising from environmental disruptions.Image: Climate Mental Health Network
These five examples reflect a growing awareness by people and organizations around the world that mental health and environmental resilience are deeply interconnected. Continued investment, collaboration and visibility will be essential to scaling the initiatives that are already working to address this link. This will ensure no one is left behind in the face of climate change.
Daniella Diaz Cely, Specialist, Climate and Community Health, World Economic Forum
This article is republished from the World Economic Forum under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.