How our emotions can guide us from despair to collective action
Peterborough Examiner – December 5, 2025 – by Drew Monkman
Climate change is once again weighing heavily on my mind—and on my emotions. This past month’s exceptionally cold, snowy weather, seen only a few times in 70 years, is yet another reminder of a destabilized climate. So does Category 5 Hurricane Melissa’s devastation of Jamaica and Cuba, fuelled by record-warm oceans, and the cascade of deadly storms and floods across South and Southeast Asia, a region warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. Adding to the anxiety are Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policy choices, which appear to favour oil and gas interests, and the sobering and disheartening fact – especially in light of Canada’s recent litany of climate-related disasters – that 73 percent of Canadians still support more pipelines.
With the swirl of climate emotions I’ve been feeling, I was immediately intrigued when my daughter told me about Dr. Kate Marvel’s new book, “Human Nature: Nine Ways to Feel About Our Changing Planet”.
Marvel reframes climate change not simply as a scientific crisis but as a profoundly human one, touching everything we love—homes, landscapes, cultures, and future generations. The science is clear and the solutions largely known; what’s missing, she argues, is collective will.
Instead of a technical treatise, Marvel explores how climate change “feels” by delving into nine emotions: wonder, anger, guilt, fear, grief, surprise, pride, hope, and love. She encourages readers to work with their emotions rather than suppress them. Emotions, in her hands, become tools for understanding and action.
1. Wonder
Marvel begins her emotional journey with wonder – the profound feeling that initially draws people to nature. Wonder evokes awe in Earth’s staggering beauty, immense complexity, and the countless small, essential miracles of nature that we too often take for granted. She posits that wonder is the fundamental spark, an innate human reaction that motivates curiosity, fuels rigorous scientific inquiry, and lays the groundwork for global stewardship and care for the world. By reconnecting with this original feeling of wonder, we recognize the inherent value of the planet, which becomes the powerful moral imperative to protect it.
2. Anger
Anger is framed by Marvel as a justified response to profound injustice and intentional environmental harm. A core source of this fury is the knowledge that powerful entities, like Exxon, had their own research and models decades ago confirming climate change was real and human-caused. Instead of acting, Exxon chose to deny this science, exploit public uncertainty, and mislead the public—an enormous betrayal that distorted the history of climate science.
Marvel’s frustration also stems from knowing the greenhouse effect has been understood since the 1800s, yet global society has done very little to stop emitting gases. She emphasizes the scientific certainty: “We are surer that greenhouse gases are warming the planet than we are that smoking causes cancer.”
She also points out the deceit of using the statement “science doesn’t know everything” to undermine climate findings. She compares this to refusing a doctor’s advice simply because medicine is incomplete. However, rather than being destructive, Marvel treats anger as necessary fuel for moral clarity and action.
3. Guilt and shame
Guilt (“I have done something bad”) and shame (“I am bad”) are common emotional responses to the climate crisis. However, focusing on shame is unproductive, as feeling attacked or flawed causes people to shut down. Guilt, conversely, should lead to accountability: acknowledging that developed countries bear the highest responsibility for this crisis while the least developed countries suffer the worst impacts. Instead of being paralyzed, the productive path forward is channeling this guilt into concrete actions to drastically lower emissions and eventually slow global warming. Focusing on accountability, not shame, is the key to progress.
4. Fear
Fear is one of the strongest emotions related to climate change—a warning signal rooted in uncertainty, risk, and irreversible loss. The physics of a warming world provides ample cause: hotter temperatures drive severe heat waves, increased moisture causes deadly flooding, greater evaporation fuels destructive droughts and fire weather and warmer ocean water intensifies hurricanes. All of these have a huge impact on biodiversity.
However, Marvel notes that danger lies not in the physical threats themselves, but in their societal impact. Given humanity’s historical inability to act equitably based on science, the greatest fear is what climate change will compel us to do to each other due to heightened social pressures and conflict.
5. Grief
Grief acknowledges what is already being lost: species, landscapes, seasons, and a sense of stability. It is the necessary counterpart of joy. This understanding is also a reminder that there is still so much in the world worth cherishing and defending.
Marvel distinguishes between natural, expected loss—like a beloved grandmother dying peacefully after a full life—and tragic, premature loss, such as the death of a child. Climate-related change feels like the latter: a profound wrongness, a sense of betrayal. The world we knew is disappearing “too soon,” taken before its time. This grief stems not only from environmental change but from the emotional rupture of seeing a once-familiar planet transform into something increasingly unrecognizable for both present and future generations.
6. Surprise
In Human Nature, Marvel also explores surprise as the emotional result of the tension between scientific certainty and human unpredictability. Though the laws of physics and the climate consequences of emissions are clear, the political and collective choices of humanity remain uncertain, which is the ultimate source of future surprise – either good or bad. Surprise captures both the capricious human element that will determine our path and the startling clarity offered by climate science.
7. Pride
Marvel centers pride on human achievement and ingenuity, arguing we must celebrate the actions already taken to protect the world. She points to several systemic triumphs like the Clean Air Act in the U.S. There are, of course, countless other examples like the Montreal Protocol which eliminated ozone-destroying chemicals; the Paris Agreement in which nearly every country in the world agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C—and ideally 1.5°C; significant conservation wins for species like the bald eagle, giant panda and humpback whale; and the exponential growth of renewable energy technologies.
Expressing pride in the “invisible army” working quietly for the planet, Marvel explains that joining this effort involves finding your contribution at the intersection of what you’re good at, what needs doing, and what you love. This complete, collective effort is required to solve the climate crisis—a challenge that is simultaneously daunting and profoundly hopeful.
8. Hope
Marvel rejects the premise that hope is a prerequisite for climate action. For her, the point isn’t feeling hopeful—the point is action itself. When faced with the question, “Are you hopeful we can fix climate change?”, she offers a powerful counter-analogy: “Do you hope you can care of your home?” You don’t perform maintenance out of hope; you do it because it is necessary. You understand the required steps and simply perform the work, removing hope from the equation entirely. Similarly, we already know the sources of greenhouse gases and how to drastically reduce them. The barrier is a lack of follow-through. Therefore, Marvel argues that instead of waiting for a sense of hope, we must focus on immediately implementing the necessary solutions.
9. Love
Love is the foundation beneath all the other emotions — love for places, people, and future generations. For Marvel, love is the strongest reason to act; it’s what makes climate action meaningful. She notes, echoing fellow climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, that love is also the most effective way to reach people: we all care about protecting the places and people we cherish.
Where does this leave us?
While individual efforts like reducing a personal carbon footprint matter, systemic change is key. The most impactful actions involve political engagement: vote for climate-focused leaders and pressure elected officials for ambitious policies. Support this shift by donating to groups focused on high-level policy and legal action, such as Environmental Defence Canada and Ecojustice Canada, and divest personal and institutional investments from fossil fuels to increase financial pressure. Additionally, drive cultural shifts by openly discussing the climate crisis with friends and family. These collective efforts, exemplified by local groups like For Our Grandchildren in Peterborough, are the true key to large-scale transformation.
Understanding our climate emotions doesn’t solve the crisis, but it helps clarify why we must act. When we honour our grief, channel our anger, and lead with love, we strengthen the resolve needed for real change. Our feelings, far from weaknesses, can become catalysts for action.
