Could concerns about nature and climate predict future social behaviors, in the same way that consumer sentiment predicts purchases and investments?
The suggestion is made in the Cell Press journal One Earth, by Dr. Griffith University. Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckleyin a preview of a paper led by Professor Thomas Pienkowski in the UK.
Professor Buckley said the Global Burden of Disease study showed anxiety and depression were widespread and getting worse.
“The economic costs amount to 16% of global GDP, with an average of 19 days lost per year for every person in the world,” Professor Buckley said.
“The causes are multiple, and among them are the current crises related to climate, biodiversity and livelihoods.
“Professor Pienkowski’s article highlights that health sector responses such as counselling and chemotherapy only address symptoms and not the underlying social determinants.
“Anxiety and its economic costs will therefore continue to grow until we can achieve major changes in global economic and political systems.”
Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley
Professor Buckley argued that we could use current types and intensities of ecoanxiety to measure people’s expectations about the future of the planet.
“Higher concerns may mean more people adopt a ‘flat’ lifestyle, with fewer children and lower financial ambitions,” he said.
“Large-scale social changes are exactly what is needed to reduce the human impact on the Earth, before it becomes unable to support an ever-growing human population.”
Professor Buckley therefore suggested tracking the evolution of different types of eco-anxiety and linking them to lifestyle choices in order to predict the changes likely to occur in billions of people on the planet.
The opinion piece “The immediate economic importance of concerns about nature, climate and livelihoods” was published in One Earth.
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