European Grandparents for Climate:

Working Group Communication and Psychology

Cognitive Dissonance and the Climate Crisis

Why do informed, well-meaning people continue behaviours that contribute to a crisis they acknowledge is real? The answer lies not in ignorance or indifference but in cognitive dissonance -- the psychological tension that arises when knowledge and action contradict each other. In the context of climate change, this tension is unusually persistent, collectively shared, and actively exploited by powerful actors. Overcoming it requires working on three levels simultaneously: psychological, structural, and communicative. . . . Read More

Wrong! wrong! wrong! (Trump) or bad, bad bad?# Some climate scientist predictions turn out not to have been as bad as had been expected because of successful initiatives to restrict emissions, proving that humans can bring about change. #But we are still in a dangerous place. Read this

Recommended reading: UNICEF report on Children's Climate Risks just out. Click here. ALSO, read the Government report about ecosystem collapse and National Security here.

Recommended listening "Who is morally responsible for Britain's political short-termism?" BBC Radio4

Recommended Viewing: Michael Sheen and "You Told Us To Talk About The Weather" here. 5 minute video clip with a frightening poem by Emma Louise Howell.

Here's a bit of psychology from the European Grandparents for Climate: Cognitive Dissonance and the Climate Crisis (European Grandparents for Climate, Psychology Working Group April 2026). Why do informed, well-meaning people continue behaviours that contribute to a crisis they acknowledge is real? The answer lies not in ignorance or indifference but in cognitive dissonance -- the psychological tension that arises when knowledge and action contradict each other. This was one of the topics at our Open Meeting on 1st July. We'll publish an article shortly.

Running out of climate arguments? Confused about the heatwaves? Read 13 summaries in 13 minutes here. Picture: Climate stripes ©Ed Hawkins/University of Reading

POLLUTION is a climate issue, and, as with most woes, affects people unequally, also in the UK. ​

Effects of air pollution (and, more positively, green spaces) on children's developing minds. 30-minute Youtube clip here.

Water pollution is a constant problem, from agricultural land run-offs and sewage discharge

(see www.Earthwatch.org.uk) with a million incidents of sewage discharges reported in the UK in 2024

(Environment Agency). Have you been to one of "your" water company's consultation surgeries yet? Here are some specimen questions.

HEALTH: Becky Lovegrove from Green and Healthy Frome (Somerset) spoke to us at our monthly Open Meeting on 1st April on the links between Climate Change and Health. You can watch her talk on our YouTube channel, or see her slides here: ​

A more amusing view (is there one?) on carbon capture?

Our Grandchildren's Climate promotes intergenerational solidarity.

Picture below: Somerset Wood. 1600 trees planted in 2019, one for each local who fell in the First World War. Legacy of the past meets hope for the future

We are not alone! Across the world there are other organizations that are working along similar lines to us: Have a look at this: Our Kids’ Climate, an anchor organization for the global movement of parents, grandparents and concerned adults taking action to protect children from the impact of the climate crisis.

Climate anxiety: BBC World Service 25 minute programme here.

For information and articles on the subject of mental health and climate change, click here.