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Introduction

Introduction​

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports noted with very high confidence that "climate change has adversely affected the mental health of people in the assessed regions."17 Climate change exposes millions to more frequent and severe weather and climate events. These experiences - such as extreme heat and flooding - can worsen existing mental health challenges and contribute to new ones2. Climate change also rapidly destabilises the conditions needed for good mental health, for example by driving food and water insecurity, forced migration, and disrupting access to treatment for mental health challenges2. Awareness of climate change and insufficient climate action can also lead to a range of psychological responses, such as climate distress18. While generally being healthy and rational reactions to living in the climate crisis, these responses may worsen or contribute to mental health challenges for some people19. The additional mental health burden of climate change, air pollution and insufficient access to green space is estimated to reach over 47 billion USD per year by 2030, escalating to over 537 billion USD per year by 205020. This intersection of climate and mental health has received growing attention in recent years, with recognition from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)21, the World Health Organisation1, the COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health22 and the Climate Change and Health Resolution adopted at the 2024 World Health Assembly23. Despite the clear need to align climate and mental health policy and practice, tangible progress remains minimal. Out of 193 national climate action plans to cut emissions (known as Nationally Determined Contributions), only 3% mentioned mental and psychosocial health24. While there is sufficient evidence to act, often the data that could guide decision-makers is still missing, and existing evidence is not always translated into action25.

Illustration

In recent years, the climate and mental health research field has grown rapidly, but unevenly. High income countries dominate the research field26, certain topics receive more attention than others26,27, and widespread variation in methodological and conceptual approaches often limits comparability and synthesis of research findings28,29.

It is not novel to recognise the interdependence of the health and stability of the environments in which we live and our own physical and mental health. Cultures and healing practices around the world, including those of many Indigenous communities, have long embedded an understanding of the inseparable nature of the health of people and Land or Country30. Global mental health has emphasised the need to focus on creating the social and environmental conditions to prevent poor mental health and community-based approaches to support those living with mental health challenges31. Many of the risks to mental health posed by the climate crisis, and the corresponding solutions, are not novel, but the scale and pace of climate change makes them amplified and more urgent. To date, there has been no aligning vision or roadmap to guide researchers and research funders on what research would make the biggest difference to people living with and responding to the mental health consequences of the climate crisis. Such an aligned vision for the climate and mental health field has been called for32, and can respond to the urgent need to connect research with action and bring together expertise across knowledge systems and disciplines. Between 2023 and 2024, 960+ people across over 90 countries came together to produce this first Global Research and Action Agenda for Climate Change and Mental Health, through the Connecting Climate Minds (CCM) project (Appendix 2). The agenda has put lived experience in the centre of its creation, and we urge all readers to put lived experience at the centre of its implementation. We, the 960+ contributors, hope this agenda will be a call to action and a roadmap for the research community. Together, we can understand the mental health consequences of the climate crisis that the CCM dialogues heard resonating globally, and the many co-beneficial solutions. We hope research funders will support the implementation of the agenda, and that all relevant actors will play their part in ensuring a future that is safer for our climate and our mental health.

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  2. Lawrance EL, Thompson R, Newberry Le Vay J, Page L, Jennings N. The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and its Implications. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2022;34(5):443–98. doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2022.2128725
  3. IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 3056 pp., doi:10.1017/9781009325844.
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  7. IPCC 2023, Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.
  8. COP28 UAE. COP28 UAE Declaration on climate and health. 2023. Available here
  9. UK Health Alliance on Climate Change. WHO adopts resolution stating climate change is a major threat to global health. UK Health Alliance on Climate Change. 2024. Available here [Accessed 19.07.2024]
  10. World Health Organization. 2023 WHO Review of Health in Nationally Determined Contributions and Long-Term Strategies: Health at the Heart of the Paris Agreement. World Health Organization; 2023.
  11. Alford J, Massazza A, Jennings NR, Lawrance E. Developing global recommendations for action on climate change and mental health across sectors: A Delphi-style study. J Clim Change Health. 2023;12:100252.
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  13. Xue S, Massazza A, Akhter-Khan SC, Wray B, Husain MI, Lawrance EL. Mental health and psychosocial interventions in the context of climate change: a scoping review. npj Mental Health Res. 2024;3:10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-024-00054-1
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  15. Thompson R, Lawrance EL, Roberts LF, Grailey K, Ashrafian H, Maheswaran H, Toledano MB, Darzi A. Ambient temperature and mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Planet Health. 2023;7–e589. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00104-3
  16. Redvers N, Celidwen Y, Schultz C, Horn O, Githaiga C, Vera M, Perdrisat M, Mad Plume L, Kobei D, Cunningham Kain M, Poelina A, Nelson Rojas J, Blondin B. The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective. Lancet Planetary Health. 2022;6:2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00354-5
  17. Collins PY. What is global mental health?. World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 2020;19(3), 265–266. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20728
  18. Nori-Sarma, A., & Galea, S. Climate change and mental health: a call for a global research agenda. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2024;11(5), 316–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00098-1