Wao Podcast: Jodie Jarvis on Climate Emotions... and Summit Speaker 2025
Talk about climate anxiety, in a safe space, and you are likely to see a lot of heads nodding in agreement. It’s a significant and real phenomenon in 2025.
Climate change isn’t just a technical or policy issue — it’s deeply emotional. Jodie Jarvis is doing important work in the field of climate emotion. At the University of Otago, alongside her PhD supervisor, Dr. Susan Wardell, Jodie has been pioneering workshops that delve into the emotional responses to climate change. These sessions are not just about understanding climate anxiety but also about creatively engaging people to find personal and collective ways to cope with these feelings. Her approach is both academic and deeply personal, making the complex topic of climate emotion accessible and relatable to a wide audience.
At Wao Summit 2025, Jodie will lead the Climate Clubs Ripple Workshop, helping participants turn climate distress into collective resilience and action. In her recent podcast with us, she shares how climate emotions can become a catalyst for change — in our communities, our families, and ourselves.
Alongside this kōrero, we’re also sharing some of the powerful resources Jodie recommends, including:
How to Talk About Climate Change – a guide to hopeful, evidence-led communication.
A Parents’ Guide to the Climate Crisis – tools for talking with children about the future.
Raising Children in a Climate Crisis – supporting resilience and adaptability.
Coping with Climate Distress – practical strategies to navigate fear, grief, and overwhelm.
Useful links
A YouTube playlist Jodie has made of a wide range videos and conversations about climate and climate anxiety (including some that are not strictly about climate but deal with broader experiences of overwhelm that are applicable)
A Dropbox folder with various resources about climate distress, useful for both organisations and individuals
The Climate Club website