CPA recognises that the climate crisis is an intergenerational social justice issue. Not only will children and young people have to live with more acute impacts of climate breakdown than older generations, society often shifts responsibility for 'solving' the crisis onto young people, whilst simultaneously often dismissing their concerns.

Older climate-aware students and people training to become therapists, psychologists and counsellors also can encounter challenges if the courses they are on are not well-orientated to planetary emergencies. As with young people, older students/pre-qualified members might have worries that they 'don't know enough about climate psychology' to meaningfully participate in CPA, meaning we can lose lots of perspectives and experiences we would love to hear from.

Because of this CPA is keen to develop the voice of younger and pre-qualified members within the organisation. Young people (16-25) and older students who have an interest in climate psychology are able to join CPA at the concessionary rate of £9.60 per year. Visit this link (climatepsychologyalliance.org) to join our membership. 

In addition to gaining access to all the other benefits of membership (visit this link (climatepsychologyalliance.org) for more information), CPA has begun offering monthly meetings for young/pre-qualified members with a passion for climate psychology to network and share resources/learning. These spaces are very much in development, and we are keen to think with members about how the spaces could be most useful. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.

Dear Solicitor General, 

RE: Trudi Warner’s case: ‘A criminal prosecution is a disproportionate approach to this situation in a democratic society’ 

These are the words of Mr. Justice Saini in his judgement on the High Court hearing in which he refused the Solicitor General’s request for permission to bring proceedings for contempt of court against Trudi Warner and dismissed the claim. Her action has been widely reported on; she carried a placard outside a court where climate protestors were being tried bearing the handwritten words: “JURORS YOU HAVE AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO ACQUIT A DEFENDANT ACCORDING TO YOUR CONSCIENCE”. These words are inscribed, for all to see, on a plaque in Old Bailey. The Solicitor General’s contention is that in doing so ‘Ms Warner (was) in contempt at common law through conduct which was a direct interference with the administration of justice, and undertaken with an intention to interfere with the administration of justice.’ Mr. Justice Saini judged that it was ‘fanciful’ to bring contempt charges against her and that doing so was based on a ‘mischaracterisation’ of the evidence of what Ms Warner did.[1]

In spite of this unequivocal judgement, the Solicitor General has decided to appeal against Mr. Justice Saini’s ruling. Trudi Warner is a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance (CPA).[2] This open letter is written on behalf of the UK membership of the CPA, to express our dismay and concern about the shameful decision to appeal against the High Court ruling. Prior to the High Court hearing, we wrote an open letter to the then Solicitor General in which we urged him not to proceed with seeking permission for a contempt of court prosecution. We outlined why we thought Trudi Warner’s action was appropriate and proportionate and we let him know that we would act in a similar way.[3] (In fact, many of us have joined with the hundreds of others who have sat silently outside courts holding a banner with the same wording as Trudi used.)

We are concerned for our colleague who, having lived for more than a year with the threat of a prison sentence or an unlimited fine hanging over her, is now once more faced with that prospect. However, Trudi’s greater concern, and ours too, is to do with the wider implications of the Solicitor General’s decision. Why is the Solicitor General, a government minister appointed by and acting on behalf of the government, in such relentless pursuit of Trudi Warner? Does the government want to make an example of her in the context of ever-increasing governmental suppression of protest, particularly in relation to the climate crisis? Is the government lowering the threshold for criminal prosecution in relation to environmental protest to a level not compatible with a democratic society? 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michael Forst, earlier this year expressed his grave concern about what he saw as a ‘severe crackdown on environmental protest in Britain with “draconian” new laws, excessive restrictions on courtroom evidence and the use of civil injunctions which he said was having a chilling impact on fundamental freedoms.’[4]

Part of the context for Trudi’s action was the restriction being placed by sections of the judiciary on climate protest defendants by not allowing them to speak about the climate crisis as a motivating factor for their protest action. Jurors, denied this information, were expected to reach decisions on the basis of the bare facts of whether the action had occurred or not.

As the climate and ecological crises become ever more grave and in the face of grossly inadequate action by governments, the democratic right to protest is ever more needed. Juries are our safeguard against both authoritarian members of the judiciary and authoritarian governments acting in the service of vested interests.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Judith Anderson Chair of Board of Trustees

Climate Psychology Alliance (climatepsychologyalliance.org)

We have just launched our free one-year membership scheme for students and people aged 16-25. 

CPA is an alliance of people who are using psychology to help people cope with the climate and ecology crisis. There are various strands to CPA's work, but we are keen to increase representation from younger people with an interest in climate psychology. Not only are younger people be disproportionately impacted by the climate emergency, but we recognise that climate aware aspiring therapists and mental health practitioners will face challenges working towards careers in contexts that typically neglect the planetary emergencies we are living through.   

The one-year membership scheme is open for registration from 10^th June to 16^th June 2024.

You will get: 

• Free membership of CPA up until June 16th 2025
• Access to CPA's Mighty Networks platform to support networking with climate aware professionals and academics
• Access to monthly meetings for CPA's young and pre-qualified members
• Free or discounted attendance at CPA trainings, workshops and the annual CPA members' day
• Opportunities to get involved in other strands of CPA's work, e.g. contributing to decolonising agendas; monthly 'thinking spaces' for developing climate psychology thinking; opportunities to publish
• Right to vote in CPA matters, e.g. on Board membership
• Opportunities to contribute to CPA Board meetings

How to sign up: 

• Fill in our membership request form (climatepsychologyalliance.us8.list-manage.com)
• Depending on your location, select the relevant "Join as a full member" option. You will then receive our welcoming instructions email
• Choose the free one-year membership scheme for students & those 16-25 in the email
• Complete signing up and wait for our confirmation email. 

Your membership will end on 16th June 2025. If you want to continue being a member after the one-year period, sign up again via our membership request form. 

Modern (Western) civilization has always assumed that there are no problems for which solutions cannot be found. Today there is no shortage of technical solutions on offer for the climate crisis, from carbon capture and storage under the North Sea through to giant high altitude aerosols which deflect the sun’s rays back into outer space. These kind of solutions require what Iain McGilchrist terms a left hemisphere worldview. 
 
This kind of instrumental rationality dominates our world, from how we educate our kids through to how we relate to the world around us (non-human nature). It also deeply affects how we think about ourselves. The triumph of modern psychology is in no small part a result of the way in which it uncritically inhabits this rationality. As a consequence alternatives, including psychoanalysis, ecopsychology and indigenous psychologies, have remained marginalised.
 
We invite contributions which critically reflect upon this rationality and its possible impact on climate psychology itself. We would value personal accounts of the grip of this rationality (as it can be so difficult to identify) and personal experiences of trying to challenge, subvert or transform it. Accounts of initiatives that deploy a different approach and contribute to new ways of collectively engaging with the climate crisis are especially welcome. 
 
If you have an idea about something you’d like to contribute please contact the editors of Issue 6, Rembrandt Zegers (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or Paul Hoggett (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). If possible we would like to receive first drafts by the end of April, the deadline for final copy is Friday 31st May.