The DOI matches its Crossref record; 134 of the 135 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Toward a Taxonomy of Climate Emotions
Open accessAbstract
There is a growing evidence that emotions shape people's reactions to the climate crisis in profound but complex ways. Climate emotions are related to resilience, climate action, and psychological well-being and health. However, there is currently a lack of research about the array of various climate emotions. There is also a need for more integration with general research about emotions. This article conducts a preliminary exploration of the taxonomy of climate emotions, based on literature reviews and philosophical discussion. The term emotion is used here in a broad sense, as is common in climate emotion research. Because of the urgency of the climate crisis and the lack of previous research, this kind of exploration is aimed to be helpful for both practical climate work and for future research which would include more systematic reviews of the topic. Research items which discuss at least five different climate emotions, based on empirical observations, are used as major sources and a table about them is provided. Climate emotions are discussed on the basis of interdisciplinary research. The article considers many aspects of the phenomena of climate anxiety and climate grief.
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“Feelings of belonging, togetherness and connection not only support capacity for nature-connection but may also provide a basis for caring about climate-related matters (Stoknes, 2015; Pihkala, 2022), providing systems-informed opportunities for connecting wellbeing with major societal challenges such as the climate emergency.”
From The Complex Construct of Wellbeing and the Role of Vagal Function (2022) · cites this paper as Pihkala, 2022
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Metadata
- Authors
- Pihkala, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Pihkala, Panu
- ORCID
- Pihkala, Panu
- Venue
- Frontiers in Climate
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2022-01-14
- Volume
- 3
- ISSN
- 2624-9553 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4206670862
- Cited by
- 471
- References
- 135
- Citations by year
- 2026: 121 · 2025: 137 · 2024: 127 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 31
- FWCI
- 125.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Climate (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Helsingin Yliopisto
- Suomen Kulttuurirahasto
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Climate Change Communication and Perception
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Keywords
- climate emotions, climate anxiety, climate grief, climate crisis, psychological well-being, resilience, climate action
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