Connecting Climate Minds project publishes detailed research agenda

By the Climate Centre

The Connecting Climate Minds project, in which the Climate Centre and the IFRC Psychosocial Centre are among the partners, has this week published its promised agenda for research and action intended to advance understanding of how climate change affects mental health.    

“The agenda seeks to build research evidence in areas where there is a critical need to inform decisions that can better protect people’s mental health while creating a safer climate,” a press release from the Wellcome-funded project led by Imperial College London said Tuesday.

People living with mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and depression, are more likely to die during a heatwave, it adds, while some communities are experiencing “continuous grief and increased risk of conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder due to extreme weather events”. 

‘A growing global field’

Emma Lawrance, a mental health specialist at Imperial College, said: “It has been humbling to hear hundreds of stories of the lived reality of the climate crisis, and the consequences for mental health.”

She hoped “the agenda inspires and guides those who can invest in research and action to enable its implementation, and allow this growing global field to support a safer climate for our mental health.”

The research agenda was developed with the testimony of nearly a thousand people from 90 countries, in the process highlighting “the ubiquity and diversity of the mental health impacts of the climate crisis”, Connecting Climate Minds says.

Guatemalan Red Cross volunteers provide welcome distraction to children affected by heavy rains, floods, and landslides across Central America from Panama to Belize, in the wake of Hurricane Eta in 2020. The situation in Guatemala was reported to be especially serious – and difficult for people to cope with. (Library photo: Guatemalan Red Cross via IFRC)