From eco-anxiety to environmental action

Climate change feels distant for many Canadians, but experts say local action matters.

On paper, climate change is everyone’s problem. But in practice, it’s easy to push aside, especially when a major worry is just getting through the week.

University of Guelph-Humber applied science in psychology student Emelia Maceasik says the average person living in a city is working hard to make ends meet, and the changing environment is not foremost on many people's minds.

“The average person living in a major metropolitan city, when they're trying to pay rent, when they're working jobs and they're taking care of their kids ... one of the last things they're going to be thinking about is climate change,” said Maceasik, who's a Student and Community Engagement Specialist. 

She began attending workshops at the Humber Arboretum while earning her honours bachelor's degree, and later joined the Learning by Leading program and worked as a camp counsellor for the summer nature camp.

They travelled to Mushkegowuk Territory in Northern Ontario for a field course in Indigenous mental health. Post-graduation, they worked as a research assistant at Humber College on a health promotion project for Indigenous youth.

Despite headlines about wildfires, floods and record-breaking temperatures, the climate crisis can feel remote, a problem for the future, not the present. And that disconnect, experts say, is part of what’s slowing meaningful action.

“We’re thinking five, 10, 20, 30 years from now,” Maceasik said. “Not the now.”

More urgent issues like housing, food and public transit dominate Canadians’ concerns. According to a CBC survey asking voters what issue was most important in the upcoming election, environmental concerns didn’t crack the top five. The most frequent answer was Canada-U.S. relations and the economy.

And yet, the long-term consequences of climate change are significant. “After including the global repercussions of extreme weather into our models, the predicted harm to global GDP became far worse than previously thought – affecting the lives of people in every country on Earth,” According to the Conversation website.

A 2023 Abacus Data survey found 62 per cent of Canadians are concerned about climate change and its potential impact on the future. That number dropped 14 points from the year before, a decline researchers linked to the rising cost of living, which appears to be overshadowing environmental concern.

Support for climate action varies by political affiliation. Among Liberal voters, 76 per cent expressed concern, followed by 74 per cent of NDP voters. Among Conservative voters, that number dropped to 49 per cent.

Still, Maceasik emphasized that climate change cannot be solved by individuals alone.

“It’s not on the individual to solve climate change,” she said. “It's going to be up to the cooperation of countries, governments and corporations.”

However, she believes local engagement is essential.

“We need to focus our action as individuals in local, grassroots environmental movements, food security and food sovereignty, because that’s where real, tangible preparation begins.”

The United Nations has also called for urgent political action, urging leaders to embrace clean energy for environmental and economic gain.

But for individuals, especially those who experience what psychologists call “eco-anxiety,” the key is empowerment through understanding.

“They want to learn how, but they may not know where to get the resources or how to be involved,” Maceasik said. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

“To care about something and to take action to protect it, you’ve got to first understand it,” she said. “We’re all a part of nature. It’s just a process of getting reconnected with the land and with the nature around us.”