Contents
What can we do about climate change?
It’s not too late to prevent the worst of the catastrophe. But it is urgent that we act now. And yet it seems like everyone is carrying on as normal. It’s confusing and jarring to see disasters on the news, documentaries about pollution and climate change, alongside adverts for the same things that are causing the damage.
And it’s not just the effects of climate change that are worrying. What if our politicians and businesses took climate change seriously? Could we cope with the changes that need to be made when there are so many other demands on our energy and time?
What is a peer-support group?
A peer support group is a group of people who share the same concerns or situation. In our case that is a concern about climate change and a desire to do something about the climate crisis – even if we’re not sure where to begin.
Belonging to a peer-support group means you decide for yourself how and when to participate. Our aim is to create an environment together where people feel safe to be themselves. In a peer support group the participants have opportunities to give and receive support. At the same time they have choice and control over when and how they do that.
Our Aims:
- To support each other through the process of coming to terms with what’s happening to our environment and what needs to be done about it. Including:
- emotional responses including eco-distress
- learning what climate science tells us about what has to be done, and what actions we can take.
- understanding the causes of climate change and rethinking our beliefs and assumptions about how the world does, and should work.
- developing strategies for looking after ourselves and for rest and relaxation.
- To support and encourage each other to engage in actions to tackle climate change and the ecological crisis, in a way and at a level that is right for each of us, with regards to our own situation, circumstances, personality and philosophy. Including:
- individual actions in our personal, everyday lives
- changes to shared practices and ways of doing things
- social action and activism to create a sustainable society
It is important to us that we carry out these aims in a way that is sensitive to the impact that hearing the facts about the climate crisis can have on people. And, in way that is understanding of the fact that not everyone has the same level of support around them, or the same capacity to make changes to their lifestyle or to engage in activism. Everyone who is concerned about the climate crisis is welcome in our group.
