Is distress about climate change associated with climate action?

The data indicates that individuals experiencing psychological distress about global warming are significantly more likely to have taken climate actions in the past year, express willingness to take future actions, and discuss the issue with others compared to those experiencing no distress.

• Individuals experiencing climate distress are more likely to have performed specific climate actions at least once in the past 12 months compared to those with no distress. Specifically, 46% of those with distress signed a petition (vs 10%), 36% donated money (vs 6%), 19% contacted government officials (vs 5%), and 19% volunteered time (vs 2%).
• When asked about their likelihood to take action if requested by someone they respect, those experiencing climate distress show higher willingness across all categories. This includes a 35% likelihood to personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience compared to 9% for those with no distress, and a 50% likelihood to support such organizations compared to 18% for those with no distress.
• People experiencing climate distress are more inclined to join campaigns to convince elected officials to reduce global warming. Combined, 55% of those with distress are either currently participating (2%), definitely would (17%), or probably would (36%) join such a campaign, compared to 20% of those with no distress (1% participating, 5% definitely, 14% probably).
• Climate distress is associated with a higher frequency of discussing global warming with family and friends. 65% of those experiencing distress do so 'often' (18%) or 'occasionally' (47%), while only 32% of those with no distress do so 'often' (6%) or 'occasionally' (26%).

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (n.d.). Is distress about climate change associated with climate action? https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/climate-distress-and-climate-action-data-tables-pdf.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Is distress about climate change associated with climate action? n.d. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/climate-distress-and-climate-action-data-tables-pdf.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=Is distress about climate change associated with climate action? |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/climate-distress-and-climate-action-data-tables-pdf.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunicationnddistress, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{Is distress about climate change associated with climate action?}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/climate-distress-and-climate-action-data-tables-pdf.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }