Complex dynamics of climate emotions among environmentally active Finnish and American young people

Abstract

Climate emotions have become an increasingly salient issue since the beginning of the 2000s. This paper draws on data from in-depth interviews from the United States (USA) and Finland to provide insight into the complex dynamics of climate emotions in 23 environmentally active young people in these two countries. The analysis centers on two main themes: (a) complex dynamics of climate emotions and (b) identities and felt social expectations. The results support recent research about the importance of anger, grief, and guilt as very common climate emotions among active people, although a broad range of emotions was recognized by the participants. Some observations were made about the role of cultural factors in these two countries. Through this analysis, this article contributes to the understanding about the ways in which identities and felt social expectations shape climate emotions, including feelings of inadequacy and obligation. Analysis of the experiences of this limited number of young people shows the prevalence of feelings of inadequacy and thus supports the recent arguments about the need to provide young people tools to set their responsibility in context, in order to avoid negative consequences of the felt pressures.