Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Embracing climate emotions to advance higher education

  • Comment
  • Published:

From Nature Climate Change

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Climate emotions permeate student learning and research activities, but their influence is poorly understood and often ignored in higher education. We develop recommendations for instructors, research mentors and institutional leaders to enhance educational and research outcomes for students grappling with challenging climate emotions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Foregrounding climate emotions in higher education.

Peter Pellitier

References

  1. Hickman, C. et al. Lancet Planet. Health 5, 863–873 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Wray, B. Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis (Knopf Canada, 2022).

  3. Clayton, S. & Karazsia, B. T. J. Environ. Psychol. 69, 101434 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Cunsolo, A. & Ellis, N. R. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 275–281 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Pihkala, P. Sustainability 12, 7836 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Head, L. & Harada, T. Emot. Space Soc. 24, 34–41 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Immordino-Yang, M. H., Darling-Hammond, L. & Krone, C. R. Educ. Psychol. 54, 185–204 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Moser, S. C. & Fazey, I. Front. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2021.662657 (2021).

  9. Forrester, N. Nature 595, 135–137 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Wamsler, C. et al. Sustain. Sci. 13, 143–162 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Is This How You Feel? (Is This How You Feel, 1 September 2023); https://go.nature.com/48kaKRc

  12. Sultana, F. Political Geogr. 99, 102638 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Cronin, M. R. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 5, 1213–1223 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Braverman, I. Coral Whisperers: Scientists on the Brink (Univ. California Press, 2018).

  15. van Valkengoed, A. M. & Steg, L. Nat. Clim. Change 9, 158–163 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Brosch, T. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 42, 15–21 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Climate Psychology 101 (Climate Psychology Alliance North America, 1 September 2023); https://go.nature.com/45NhnK9

  18. Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology (Yale Univ., 1 September 2023); https://go.nature.com/3EGVTTg

  19. Adaptive Mind Project (Susanne Moser, 1 September 2023); https://go.nature.com/3LuoyyR

  20. Becoming a Resilient Scientist (BRS) Series (National Institutes of Health, 1 September 2023); https://go.nature.com/3rabtUx

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Peter T. Pellitier

  2. Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Peter T. Pellitier & Sierra R. Castaneda

  3. Department of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Michelle Ng

  4. Susanne Moser Research & Consulting, Hadley, MA, USA

    Susanne C. Moser

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Britt D. Wray

Authors
  1. Peter T. Pellitier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michelle Ng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sierra R. Castaneda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Susanne C. Moser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Britt D. Wray
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter T. Pellitier.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pellitier, P.T., Ng, M., Castaneda, S.R. et al. Embracing climate emotions to advance higher education. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1148–1150 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01838-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01838-7

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation