Maggi  Climate change represents a critical threat to environmental stability and physical health, while also acting as a significant risk multiplier for mental health and psychological wellbeing. The pervasive and escalating nature of its impacts exacerbates mental health risks across diverse populations, establishing it as one of the foremost public health challenges of our time. When examined through an equity-focused lens, it is evident that climate change disproportionately burdens specific societal sectors. This disparity arises from the intersection of climate impacts with key social determinants of health, which compound the severity of its consequences.

This presentation will elucidate the multifaceted pathways through which climate change adversely affects mental health. It will distinguish between acute, clinically diagnosable conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression, linked to extreme weather events, and the more chronic, insidious psychological effects associated with the all-encompassing ecological crisis. A key focus will be the characterization of eco-anxiety, a complex psychological response stemming from awareness of environmental degradation and concern for the future.

Moving beyond establishing these associations, the presentation will advocate for a solution-oriented framework informed by developmental sciences and positive psychology. It will explore adaptive strategies designed to support psychological flourishing with a particular emphasis on managing eco-anxiety. These strategies include cultivating a deeper connection with oneself, others and the natural world.

Brklacich  Gloom about climate change is all around: dangerous levels of atmospheric GHGs, more frequent and intense extreme events such as droughts and wildfires, the breaching of the 1.5°C warming threshold and the failure to curb global GHG emissions all engender despair.