The Five stages of Climate Grief | Depression

The Climate Grief Series

Welcome to SG’s contribution to TUD Climate Action. After a successful pilot event in the summer, where we welcomed the giant, floating Climate Jellyfish to the Library, we are kicking off our Climate Grief Series. There will be five events for you to visit, corresponding to the famous five stages of grief: denial, depression, anger, bargaining, and acceptance. Having faced Denial and the Climate Oracle, it is now time to move on to the next stage.

Stage 2. Depression

The climate scenarios we face offer little cause for optimism. We are looking for ways in which we can imagine and create better futures. But how do we imagine a future so radically different from anything that has come before?

Models and scenarios are an important tool in climate science through which we can derive knowledge and make decisions under deep uncertainty. The decisions we take are the result of the complex interplay between social, (geo-)political and economic actors, and involve moral and economic assumptions and considerations. The effects may not become clear for a long time, and will affect future generations for years to come. How can we influence and imagine a future so different from the world as we know it today?

Alessandro Taberna is a PhD candidate at the Department of Multi Actor Systems, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. His current research focuses on how the autonomous adaptation of interacting heterogeneous households and firms affects regional climate-induced damages and socio-economic resilience.

Daniëlle Arets is professor of journalism and innovation at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on shaping the future of journalism through design research, investigating technology trends and creating meaningful future narratives.

Lisette van Beek recently obtained her PhD at the Environmental Governance group and the Urban Futures Studio at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. She is actively involved in the European research project CLIMAGINARIES, which aims at exploring and finding new ways in which climate futures are imagined, narrated and employed.

Moderator Aafke Fraaije is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ethics & Philosophy group at TU Delft, researching how we can have meaningful conversations about climate change. And how art can help us.