Climate grief can manifest in many ways, including feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, and hopelessness. It can be triggered by news reports of environmental destruction, witnessing the effects of climate change firsthand, or simply reflecting on the bleak future that lies ahead if urgent action is not taken.

Like any form of grief, climate grief can be a heavy burden to bear and can take a toll on mental health and well-being. It is important to acknowledge and validate these feelings, seek support from others who share similar concerns, and take action to address the root causes of climate change.

In dealing with climate grief, it is important to focus on finding ways to cope with these emotions, such as engaging in activism, connecting with nature, advocating for sustainable practices, and supporting policies that aim to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is also essential to prioritize self-care, seek professional help if needed, and remember that individual actions, no matter how small, can make a difference in the fight against climate change.

People are starting to stand up for the environment.

For example, many people are fighting against big companies for eco sustainability, like how they showed in the first video.

People are trying to make a change- this conference today confirms it. People are connecting to each other to save this planet.

That is and there is hope that people CAN make a change and people making an effort to do it.

Plastics are so harmful to the environment, as it takes 100s of years to decompose.

This not only causes land fills across the world, but can also harm the living beings.

For example, many plastics get into the ocean, and it dives deep in. Since the species living under the water don't know anything about the plastics, it is very likely it will consume it. Then this can kill the animal.

so reducing the plastics will decrease land fill wastes,and more.

Instead of plastics for food, we can other alternatives whcih are sustainable for the environment. Such as banana leaves, these are widely used in india and other asian countries.

Sana, 16, GISB, Thailand

Kyra, Garden International School Bangkok

Gracy,garden bangkok

Land -growing natural materials (cotton)

Water- dyeing and washing 

Trees- Cut to grow natural materials (viscose)

Oil- Producing polyester 

Hong Kong-  194 tonnes of clothes thrown away everyday (13 double decker buses)

Impact of clothing- 

Water pollution

Chemical use

Waste

Microplastics (made by polyester)

Carbon emissions

Overuse of resources

Climate change is increasing

If we create more clothes, the climate change will keep on getting worse.

Instead of ( Take ---> Use --->Waste).

we can try (Make ---> Use --->Reuse

--->Remake --->Recycle) And then the cycle continues.

Actions-

When you wear, take care & repair

When you dont need, share

When you can’t use, upcycle

When you buy, buy what you need

When you buy, buy secondhand

If you support, spread the word

Kyra, Garden International School Bangkok

Gracy,garden bangkok

Jayda, ANS, Bangkok

Also, minimize the use of single-use plastics and other disposable items that contribute to energy-intensive manufacturing processes by embracing reusable alternatives, such as water bottles, bags, and containers.

Apply energy-saving habits in the workplace, such as turning off lights and electronic devices when not needed. Advocate for energy-efficient practices at home, school and workplace where we spend most of our time at.

EIS, Malaysia

As years pass by, the climate crisis makes me feel as if the world will stop working soon, everyday i feel depressed when i see how much natural disasters and tragedies occur on the news.

Humans are the smartest beings on Earth, our critical thinking seperates us from animals, but are we that smart if we can not look after what was given to us, our home.

Many people feel the need to do something but their contributions are outnumbered by what has already been done. Therefore they go through fear and depression which lowers their self esteem that they couldn't help.

Throughout my 12 years on this Earth, I have seen how much this world has changed, in my home country, winters used to be freezing and usually -20 degrees and long but now they are short and warm, snow only falls on the highest peaks, it makes me feel sad that my home will not be the same as I know it sooner or later.

We must not let the issue rest, and continue to push for climate restoration by making even minor changes in our lifestyles which will affect the Earth enormously, e.g. stop buying unecessary products which contribute to the companies abusing Earth, even use less electricity and the world will save billions of watts of energy.

Overall, we must strive to take care of the Earth even if we don't see immediate actions, we must treat Earth as we would like Earth treat us.

Yousuf Eaton International School Malaysia

1. Establish a sustainability council to discuss current issues in our community, raise awareness, and carry out campaigns to promote recycling.

2. To deal with issues of food wastes, we can create a compost bin, allow for proper separation of wastes, periodically amend menu to fit with student's tastes and portions, create a school garden for fruits and vegetables.

3. Reduce plastic and other harmful wastes or garbage by encouraging the use of reusable bags and utensils. Furthermore, we could adjust the content of our snack shop to reduce trash.

We hope to start changes inside our community then possibly extending our actions further to bring about a sustainable future.

To create impactful change, educating the next generation is crucial. All of us has the potential to reform our government and society.

I hope that all of us, our government through their geopolitical conflicts, our community despite our differences, and people through their hate, will all be guided by the same concern for sustainability to solve the climate crisis.

I hope that the generations which precedes me would consider the futures of their children, stop their selfish ways, their greed, their pessimism and fight for our environment.

I hope I would not have to see my fellow humans suffer through extreme natural disasters, droughts, floods, fires, losing their homes from the sea level rise and be granted their right to live fruitful lives.

I hope we are not too late to make change...

It is quite like losing a family member or friend, the loss makes it hurt to remember anything about them, see something associated with them, etc. If we look at this ‘lost person’ as out earth, the place that nurtures us for our entire life; to watch it dying and knowing you can’t do anything about it is true grief. That is why the term Climate Grief is not just pain for a loss, it is the pain of feeling helpless during the loss.

Climate Grief can be triggered by a Grief disorder as well. For people who have faced a severe loss, Climate Grief is very likely to occur once the person has witnessed or watched something that brings out this issue.

But we can change that. We can contribute to Organisations, donations, clean up parties, fundraisers, anything at all to stop mother earth’s state from worsening. This is possibly the best solution for Climate Grief. There are many organisations that help turn Climate Grief into Climate Action.

Myesha, Garden Bangkok

Thejas, Singapore