為氣候韌性而行：COP30 前的青年心理健康之聲 Marching for Climate Resilience: Voices on Mental Health Ahead of COP30

Now almost 10 years after the Paris Agreement was created, COP30 plays a crucial role to define the direction countries engaged in the Convention will take to face climate change during the following year and beyond. This conference represents a moment of hope for everyone, but especially for those being most affected by the consequences of global warming. There’s an urgent need to improve mitigation and adaptation strategies, but also to address a variety of upcoming social issues, such as the ones related to mental health.

According to UNICEF, Climate Anxiety can be described as heightened emotional, mental or physical distress in response to dangerous changes in the climate. This is something a lot of young people experience, and an issue we, at TWYCC, consider relevant to our mission.

This past November 1st, TWYCC joined the Climate March organized at Taipei, Taiwan. This march was an event to reaffirm our commitment to fight against climate change, and one that allowed us to share a space for discussions with other youth participants. 

During one of our discussion sessions, we shared our thoughts on the topic of mental health and climate change. Among the triggers for mental distress, participants mentioned extreme weather conditions (such as excessive heat) and consumption of social media news on major climate disasters. Then, we brainstormed some ways to improve our mental health under these situations, a lot of them based on our own experience, and put them down on a cardboard through some texts and drawings to combine our visions.

We concluded the main ways we could take care of ourselves would be recognizing the issue of climate anxiety and including it in more discussions, learning to enjoy the beauty of nature in our everyday life, becoming part of a community where we can take climate action, and keeping a flexible mentality to adapt to the fast changing society we live in.

The current and future consequences of climate change can feel overwhelming for a lot of people, but by showing each other understanding and support, we can all help each other’s journey become more enjoyable.

在距離《巴黎協定》制定至今將近十年的此刻，COP30 扮演著關鍵角色。它將決定著未來一年乃至更長遠的期間，各締約國在面對氣候變遷時前往的方向。這場會議對所有人而言都是充滿希望的時刻，對受到全球暖化影響最深的人來說，更是如此。我們迫切需要加強減緩與調適策略，同時也必須正視一系列新興的社會議題，其中包含不容忽視的心理健康議題。

根據聯合國兒童基金會（UNICEF） 的定義，「氣候焦慮」指的是因為面臨氣候變遷造成的危機，而在情緒、心理或生理上產生的高度壓力。許多青年正在經歷這樣的關卡， TWYCC 也因此相信這個議題與我們的使命密切相關。

在今年的 11 月 1 日，TWYCC 在台北參與了多位倡議團體共同舉辦的氣候遊行。這場遊行不僅再次展現了我們希望積極面對氣候變遷的決心，也讓我們有機會與其他青年參與者交流討論。

在其中一場討論中，我們國際部的「心理韌性小組」透過舉辦輕鬆的交流會，與在場青年討論對於心理健康和氣候變遷的想法。關於造成心理壓力的原因，有參與者提到極端天氣（例如極端高溫），也有人提到大量接觸社群媒體上重大氣候災害新聞的影響。接著，我們邀請大家一起腦力激盪，討論在這些情況下可以如何照顧自己的心理健康。其中提到的很多方法其實來自我們的親身經驗。我們透過文字與圖畫，在紙板上記錄彼此的想法。

我們總結出幾個「如何在氣候變遷下讓自己具有心理韌性」的方式：

1. 認知並正視氣候焦慮，並在更多的對話中納入這個議題；
2. 讓自己成為共同採取氣候行動社群中的一分子；
3. 在日常生活中學會欣賞大自然的美；
4. 保持彈性的心態來適應瞬息萬變的社會。

此刻與未來的氣候變遷將造成的影響，讓許多人感到不知所措，但只要我們彼此理解、互相支持，就能讓我們在前行的路上感到更加踏實，也更能找到樂趣。