Understanding and Responding to Climate Anxiety

Abstract

The accelerating pace of climate change has given rise to phrases such as ‘an era of the climate crisis’ and ‘an era of climate anxiety’. The expression ‘an era of the climate crisis’ can be seen to resonate with the situation in Korea, inasmuch as it is a country where climate change is defined in law and policies have been implemented to address related issues. As for climate anxiety, it has become a growing concern in Korea ever since the IPCC first highlighted its significance. This article explores climate anxiety both as a concept and in terms of its characteristics, examines its status in Korea, and discusses how we should understand and respond to it. Climate anxiety levels in Korea are comparable to those reported in other countries. One noteworthy finding is that climate anxiety has the positive aspect of motivating individuals to adopt eco-friendly behaviors. Instead of viewing climate anxiety as a pervasive problem to be eradicated, Korea should harness it to better respond to the threats posed by the climate crisis.