Moderator:
- Nicola Gale (UK)
Participants:
- Irina Feygina (USA)
- Weronika Kałwak (Poland)
- Giuseppe Carrus (Italy)
Abstract:
Anthropogenic global climate change poses a threat to the natural environment, society, economy, geopolitics, and human health if not human survival.The psychological community of researchers, practitioners, teachers and students is getting increasingly engaged in mitigation of and adaptation to the climate emergency. While there is a widespread consensus about the disruptive impacts of climate change on ecosystems and communities globally,, as psychologists, we encounter various and often conflicting attitudes towards whether and how to address climate change issues in our discipline, given their link to global and regional politics. A panel discussion proposed by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations expert reference group for psychology and climate change will address the topic of political neutrality in psychology of climate change. Is political neutrality – entrenched in psychology striving for objectivity – the required approach to research, practice and education, and is it possible to preserve this approach in the face of the climate emergency?
What are the psychological underpinnings of the politicization of climate change?
What does it mean to conduct research and engage in psychological practice in a politically charged space, and the context that has politicized it?
Which values and beliefs underlie the approaches that emphasize political engagement vs. neutrality of the psychology of climate change?
How can we make sense of this diversity within our profession to prevent polarization and move toward a shared aim of supporting mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis?