Much has been done in the effort to convince people about climate change and the threat it poses to life on this planet.
Images like the emaciated polar bear stranded on the ice floe or the lost koala sitting amongst blackened tree stumps are seared into our minds, as climate scientists paint nightmarish visions of what the future will look like if the global temperature continues to rise.
In his bestselling book, The Uninhabitable Earth, journalist David Wallace-Wells vividly paints the “best-case scenario”.
“At two degrees, the ice sheets will begin their collapse, 400 million more people will suffer from water scarcity, major cities in the equatorial band of the planet will become unlivable, and even in the northern latitudes heat waves will kill thousands each summer,” he writes.
A CFS volunteer gives a koala a drink of water from a bottle, as firefighters battle the Cudlee Creek, South Australia. Source: CFS
Wallace-Wells predicts a seven-degree rise in warming would cause a human body living in the equatorial band to be “cooked to death from both inside and out.”
Indeed, fear is a powerful emotion, and a vital tool to be wielded by climate activists.
Swedish student activist Greta Thunberg perhaps said it most clearly in her address to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland in 2019.
“I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house was on fire—because it is".
Fear certainly makes us sit up and pay attention. But activists today face a real challenge; how to channel the emotion in a way that empowers people to take action, rather than making them feel too overwhelmed and powerless to do anything about it.
‘We are not drowning, we are fighting’
For Joseph Zane Sikulu, whose family lives in low-lying islands of Tonga, the fight to save the planet is deeply personal.
“I read this climate model that predicted, if we continue on the trajectory that we’re on at the moment, then by the end of the century all of the land that my family are on will be inundated with water,” he told The Feed.
“It really fuelled my want to do something about it, and to protect not just our homes, but all these things we value. Our people, all the things that are natural, all the things that our ancestors made.”
Joseph Zane Sikulu from the Pacific Climate Warriors. Source: The Feed
Joseph is a campaigner with a grassroots movement for climate justice called the Pacific Climate Warriors, with activists from all over the Pacific island states.
Many of these islands are facing an existential threat from climate change, as severe weather events and the rising sea level endanger their homes.
The battle cry of the Pacific Climate Warriors, which rings out at their protests, is: “we are not drowning, we are fighting.”
“This slogan is the call of the Pacific people to really stand up and reclaim our own narrative,” Joseph said.
“The narrative that the world has held of the Pacific, especially during the climate crisis is one of victimhood,” he added.
“Our people are reclaiming this narrative that we have control over our future, and even though the climate crisis is something we have not contributed a lot to, it’s something that we’re going to stand up and fight against and fight for our people.
Joseph said fear plays a central part in his messaging, but he understands it’s a delicate balance to maintain.
“Fear can sometimes stop people from wanting to take action because they feel like it’s just too much. But also we know that this fear can be a push for some people to stand up and take action and do something about it,” he said.
“As a tactic, it can be quite divisive, and we’ve seen our governments use fear in order to separate communities of people. But as a climate change campaigner, our job is to try and bring people together.”
What is Eco-Anxiety?
Eco-Anxiety is a new psychological phenomenon that details the mental toll that worrying about the environment can take on people, especially younger generations.
It was first defined by The American Psychological Association in 2017 as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.”
Eco-Anxiety can range from a natural response to the news of extreme weather events and a feeling of worry about the uncertainty of the future, to the emotional trauma from living through climate disasters for those on the frontlines.
In Australia, a survey from youth mental health group ReachOut, found four in five students are feeling somewhat or very anxious about climate change, with one in five planning to not have children or have fewer children because of climate change.
In 2019, climate activist Greta Thunberg delivered a speech during a session of the World Economic Forum Summit in Davos, Switzerland. Source: AP
The Australian Psychological Society released an information handbook to help people coping with climate change distress. In it, they suggest tactics such as maintaining healthy routines, sharing concerns with trusted friends, as well as taking action against climate change, such as lobbying politicians, changing individual behaviours and participating in climate groups.
For Joseph, it’s about finding the connection to his land and people that gives him the strength to fight, and thinking beyond himself about ‘what kind of ancestor do I want to be?’.
“The answers to all of these crises we are facing, whether it’s this climate crisis or this pandemic, is really about building connection and community,” he said.
“The only way forward is if we can do that together.”
