Science

The Grief Cycle Explains Climate Change Denial

Humans cycle through a predictable set of emotions surrounding death. Denial is only the first step.

Photo by Benjamin Voros at Unsplash

Whatever feelings you have you have right now about climate change, wherever you’re at in your climate journey, you are perfectly normal. There’s nothing wrong with you or your reaction. Whether you’re a climate warrior or a climate denier, there’s a reason you’re feeling the way you do, and the best explanation is grief.

In many ways the climate crisis mimics the death of a loved one. It may even feel like the doctor has handed you the diagnosis of a terminal illness. This is not a coincidence. With species disappearing and natural systems overturning, the fact is, our planet is dying. Our way of life is changing. There is a way to save it, but first we need to work through our grief.

In her 1969 book On Death and Dying, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross wrote of the cycle of emotions people pass through as they contemplate a life-ending event. To make sense of impending doom, the mind follows a pattern of, in order, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Each of these are visible in our responses to climate change, from outright denial and resistance to hybrid cars and fatalism. Like a cancer…