There is a growing need for an EU agenda to address mental health challenges related to climate change, stakeholders said at an expert meeting in Brussels, calling for a shift to mitigation alongside adaptation efforts. urged.
“We know that experiencing the trauma of having a house burn down or being forced to move due to flooding has long-term mental health consequences. And this is underappreciated, and climate action “The cost of inaction is not taken into account when calculating the cost of inaction,” says Emma Laurence, Imperial College Perspectives on research on the effects of
“This is a historic moment for the EU to develop a priority research agenda on climate and health, and my key message is that mental health should be given equal respect to physical health in this agenda. That’s it,” she added.
They explained that extreme weather events have a direct impact on people’s mental health, and people with already diagnosed mental health problems are particularly affected by climate change-related challenges.
Risk factors and their impact
New terms such as “climate change anxiety” are emerging to reflect the reality of the impact of climate change on mental health. Young people often feel anxious, seeing the direct effects of global warming and feeling unable to do anything to solve or stop it.
Researchers have found that these mental states can occur after witnessing events such as storms, floods, wildfires, droughts, and extreme heat.
In 2021, study Published in lancet Of the 10,000 young people surveyed in 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, UK and US, 60% said they were ‘very anxious’ or ‘extremely anxious’. It became clear that the respondents answered that they felt that way. And so are the negative emotions associated with climate change, such as sadness, fear, anxiety, anger, and helplessness.
“What we’re seeing now is that there is an interplay between consciousness and experience. People who are experiencing these effects are not only aware of what is happening now, but are most concerned about their future.” We know you are worried,” Laurance explained.
She added: “Not only do they need to recover from this event, but the compounding of events means they don’t have much time to recover before the next event occurs.” So how can we break out of this cycle? Is not it? ”
Stakeholders also discussed highly vulnerable groups during the meeting, including women, children, people with disabilities and people working outdoors.
In 2021, northwestern North America experienced an unprecedented heat event (EHE) characterized by high temperatures and reduced air quality, resulting in approximately 740 excess deaths in British Columbia.
During the eight hottest days in the region, 134 people diagnosed with schizophrenia died in the Heat Dome, triple the average number of deaths for the same period from 2006 to 2020.
“The sad reality is that increasing awareness of the mental health impacts of climate change is being experienced by a growing number of people around the world whose lives and livelihoods are increasingly affected by the fossil fuel scourge. “Because of the needs that we have,” Lawrence said.
not so easy solution
Kathy Bergs, Governor of Antwerp, explained at the conference that although people are aware of the dangers of climate change to their physical and mental health, the sense of crisis in politics and public opinion remains limited.
“We know prevention is key, but how can we mobilize large sums of money if we can’t prove it? After all, we might have prevented something, but we can’t prove it. “I can’t do that,” she explained.
It added: “Too many policymakers are avoiding being frank, open and transparent about the seriousness of the situation and the need for a fundamental transition.”
To this end, Antonio Gasparini of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine stressed that it is essential to quantify the cost-effectiveness of specific policies.
“The focus should be on mitigation as well as adaptation, because it is clear that the benefits of mitigation are increasing in terms of significantly reducing climate change,” he added.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
