Understanding Eco-Emotions in Adolescents and Young Adults

As young people continue to experience a changing planet, they will also process and cope with the emotions that arise from this change. Eco-emotions, as defined by the environmental theologian Panu Pihkala, are emotions which are significantly related to ecological issues. First popularized by environmental philosopher Glenn Albertch in the early 2000s, research regarding eco-emotions is rapidly growing, but necessitates greater depth and expansion. This literature review aims to compile survey data studies, conference proceedings, meta-analyses, ethnographic studies, and a policy report to identify the various eco-emotions and how they impact adolescents and young adults as individuals and collectives. This paper aims to contextualize their existing landscape of young people’s eco-emotions through their intersectional identities, as well as, pre- and post-transformative coping strategies as theorized by Maria Ojala and Panu Pihkala. The spectrum of emotions that may be experienced in adaptive or maladaptive ways ultimately impact climate action. The key findings of this literature review include a call for a diversity of methodologies and approaches to address the heavy reliance on survey-data, a better consensus on the intersection of eco-emotions to address the current inconsistencies in research, and an uplifting of voices of the most affected people and places (MAPA) to the forefront of research and action.