Tips From the Experts on How to Deal With Climate Anxiety

by Beth Salt | Apr 30, 2024 | LSA Insights

‘Antarctica sea ice reaches alarming low for third year in a row’ 

‘Public transport workers join climate activists for week of strikes across Germany’

‘Cholera: An overlooked outcome of climate change’

The headlines keep coming. And with them, inevitably, comes a spike in our climate anxiety. But when does normal concern tip towards thinking which can negatively impact our mental health, and how do we stop this from happening? And can eco-anxiety be framed as a positive force which brings people together and drives action?

We know that lawyers are under immense stress at work, with evidence suggesting legal professionals are at a higher risk of burnout than the general population. According to research carried out by LawCare, a mental health charity in the sector, over 60 per cent of lawyers reported suffering from anxiety ‘often, very often, or all of the time’ over the preceding 12 months. Despite workplace intervention, the problem is not getting better. The charity reported a 24 per cent increase in contacts in 2023.

So what about lawyers who are working on the front line of sustainability?

Climate anxiety is defined as how we respond psychologically to the climate crisis. Our responses may go beyond anxiety to include grief, anger, overwhelm, betrayal and guilt. It is not a mental health condition in its own right, in fact it could be argued it’s a normal response to an existential crisis. However, an excess of climate anxiety can lead to a range of secondary problems related to mental health, such as panic, insomnia or depression.

It’s an issue impacting a large, and growing, proportion of the population. Youth non-profit organisation Force of Nature found that more than 70 per cent of young people feel hopeless in the face of the climate crisis and as many as 56 per cent believe humanity is doomed. At the same time, only 26 per cent feel that they know how to contribute to solving the problem.

Research carried out by York University showed young people are more likely to feel anger than fear about the climate crisis. But Rowenna Davis, director of the Global Future think tank, says that can be positive: “Fear can make you risk-averse and sometimes it can make you go inwards, but anger is much closer to hope, it’s a motivating force, it forces you to confront, it’s more active.”

Meanwhile, work done by Yale University in the US shows that collective action can form a buffer against climate anxiety. Clinical psychologist Sarah Lowe says her work in this area suggests that engaging in collective action has a multitude of benefits, including social connectedness with people who share similar goals and values.

“We know from a large body of literature that social support is one of the strongest predictors of mental well-being” Sarah said. “We also thought that individuals who engaged in collective action – particularly if they saw those actions as having an impact – could have a stronger sense of self-efficacy and hope for the future. On the other hand, there’s some research that people who engage in activism can be at risk for burnout.”

Most research in this area points to one main principle: the best way to address climate anxiety is to take action. But it’s important to maintain a level of self-care while doing so. Dr Emma Lawrence, mental health innovations fellow at Imperial College London, said: “As individuals and communities, we can work towards a more positive vision of the future. There is a way to take action and create that positive future yourself. But we need to take care of ourselves in the process.”

Some thoughts from the experts:

• Take action – but be kind to yourself

It’s important to avoid burnout. If your job involves these issues allow yourself to step away and switch off in the evenings and at the weekends.

• Acknowledge the truth of the situation, while knowing you are having a positive input

In the face of the news about climate change, it’s understandable to feel anxious. But don’t get stuck in these feelings.

• Forge connections and support others who are taking action

Youth climate activists reported feeling positively connected to a global community.

• Do not hold yourself overly accountable

No one person should feel they have to carry the burden of the climate crisis on their shoulders. The real difference will be made by systemic change, do what you can to support that.

• Create hope

The creation of hope can be an active process, not a passive thing you have to wait for. If you are taking action you are part of the solution.

• Notice and celebrate the actions you are taking towards protecting the planet, however large or small

Everything counts.

• Spend time in nature

This can be balancing and replenishing, helping you to work from the positive. This can help counter feelings of overwhelm.

• Journal

Record how you are feeling and how you are responding to those feelings. This will give you more insight into knowing when you need to step away and give yourself space.

“We don’t want people to feel stuck in their sadness about the climate crisis,” says Emma. “What can be helpful is when people hold their anger and sadness about wider inaction, and about the losses we face, but alongside this hold that there is hope and a reason to take action.”

The LSA is here to support you in taking action. If you are facing a challenge at work in tackling the climate crisis, we can help. Contact us and we will explore solutions throughout our network. And we would like to celebrate your successes! Email comms@legalsustainabilityalliance.com, we would love to hear from you.

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Blog written by Rachel Millichip, Millichip Media.

Mewburn Ellis – Our Sustainability Journey

by Beth Salt | Mar 20, 2024 | LSA Insights

The Revised Oxford Offsetting Principles and What They Mean for Your Firm

by Beth Salt | Mar 20, 2024 | LSA Insights

By Injy Johnstone, Research Associate in Net Zero Aligned Offsetting at the Sustainable Finance Group and Researcher at Oxford Net-Zero

Despite offsetting being often the major plank in the net zero planning of corporations, next to no offsetting is currently net zero. This needs to change.

We know from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that to reach net zero carbon we need to balance our residual emissions with additional removal capacity. However, the vast majority of carbon credits are dominated by projects that pay people to avoid releasing emissions, rather than actively reducing or removing them. Because it can be hard to robustly evidence that such an emission would have occurred in future, recent investigations have found that up to 90% of credits in some projects may be worthless. It’s not just the type of project that matters, but also how new it is and whether it would have occurred regardless of carbon credit financing. In 2023, some corporations were still retiring carbon credits from projects whose mitigation impact happened in 2006 or earlier. At the same time, we see funds flowing to projects that may already make economic sense already–such as installing renewable energy in most parts of the world.

The need to scale removals to meet net zero is also demonstrated by the fact that global emissions are still increasing. Indeed, based on recent estimates of global CO₂ emissions and removals, in 2023 for every 1 ton we removed, we released a further 18.5 tonnes into the atmosphere. What’s more, the vast majority of the removals, are only storing CO₂ temporarily, meaning they need to be replaced in future for us to meet net zero. It is therefore clear that the status quo of carbon offsetting is not primed for net-zero alignment.

Rather than continuing to entrench the unsustainable results of today’s offsetting the Oxford Offsetting Principles work backwards from what’s needed for net zero alignment. The four Principles are:

1. Cut emissions, ensure the environmental integrity of credits used to achieve net zero, and regularly revise your offsetting strategy as best practice evolves
2. Transition to carbon removal offsetting for any residual emissions by the global net zero target date
3. Shift to removals with durable storage (low risk of reversal) to compensate any residual emissions by the net zero target date
4. Support the development of innovative and integrated approaches to achieving net zero

Originally released in 2020, the Revised 2024 version now offers important and additional insights. It notes with concern that despite engagement in the prospect of net zero aligned offsetting since the release of the original principles, an urgent course correction of offsetting practice is needed. It further recognises that despite additional guidance on both the supply and demand aspects of the voluntary carbon market having been developed in recent years, these do not go far enough to calibrate net zero aligned offsetting strategies. The Revised Principles also add more nuance as to the vital role played by investment in nature-based solutions to protect nature in its own right separate from any potential mitigation benefits it may yield. Finally, they recognise that given the significant need to scale climate mitigation across the board, that all actors who can, should consider additional ‘beyond value chain’ investments in projects which reduce or remove emissions.

There are a number of key implications for law firms that stem from the Revised Oxford Offsetting Principles:

• As Implementors

Law firms are increasingly setting their own net-zero commitments, both as individual firms and as part of collectives such as the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance and the Legal Charter 1.5. For firms to reach such commitments there are practical steps they can take to limit their own value-chain emissions and craft a net-zero aligned offsetting strategy to address residual emissions; this being one that adheres to the environmental integrity, transparency and review standards of Principle One, invests in carbon removal offsetting, with a pathway to fully durable removals by the net zero target date in line with Principles Two and Three and considers investing in additional beyond value chain mitigation in line with Principle Four.

• As Advisors

Advised emissions are also an integral part of firms’ scope 3 emissions. As a result, they also present an avenue to implement Principle Four: innovative and integrated approaches to achieving net zero. When firms are advising clients who have or want to make net zero commitments, it is fundamental to communicate the Revised Oxford Offsetting Principles as a benchmark for net-zero aligned offsetting and–if adopted–to ensure that there is a credible pathway to the realisation of the transition to durable carbon removal for residual emissions. Indeed the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative recognises that companies should “seek independent legal advice on all aspects of the use of green, carbon and climate claims in the context of carbon credits in all jurisdictions…”. Firms that are equipped to provide this advice can help not only ensure that clients are advised on best-practice offsetting, but also if net zero aligned offsetting strategies are implemented correctly, it could also significantly reduce the litigation risk that clients could face when compared with the current status quo of the voluntary carbon market. It is also important as legislators are increasingly considering further measures to both reign in voluntary carbon offsetting practices and stimulate investments in carbon removal.

In this way, law firms have an integral role to play in ushering forth the era of net zero aligned offsetting. The Revised Oxford Offsetting Principles were released to assist with this. For further insights on how to operationalise these Principles, please keep an eye on the Smith School for Enterprise and the Environment’s website. If you would like to dive deeper, you can also apply to join the first-ever Oxford Programme on Net Zero Aligned Offsetting, happening in person in Oxford later this year.