Climate anxiety impairs sustained attention: objective evidence of a cognitive cost

Results show that greater climate anxiety is associated with reduced attentional task performance, independent of climate change experience or general psychological distress. Given the central role of attention in decision-making and action-planning, these findings underscore how this cognitive vulnerability may pose a critical barrier to adaptive engagement and effective climate action. The findings also highlight the need for research on approaches to bolster sustained attention as we face growing climate anxiety in a warming world.