ClimHope
Project information
Project duration
-
Funded by
Multiple sources (Spearhead projects of centres for multidisciplinary research)
Project funder
Project coordinator
University of Oulu
Unit and faculty
Contact information
Project leader
- Professor
Researchers
Project description
Background
Climate change is one of the most serious problems confronting humanity, and young people are among those most affected by it. Research shows that young people are deeply worried about climate change, and recent surveys suggest that hope is decreasing while hopelessness may be on the rise. And yet, while research on climate anxiety has grown rapidly, climate-change hopelessness has received comparatively little attention.
ClimHope aims to address this gap. The project starts from the premise that hopelessness, broadly understood as the sense that it is too late to do anything about climate change, or that there is nothing we can do to stop it, can pose risks to mental wellbeing, climate engagement, and democratic participation. At the same time, hopelessness is unlikely to be a single uniform phenomenon. Different young people may feel hopeless for very different reasons, and those differences are likely to matter for the outcomes that hopelessness produces in their lives.
Expected project outcomes
The project will produce open-access scientific publications and conference presentations, as well as a doctoral dissertation, while developing and validating a new quantitative measure of climate-related hopelessness. Through collaboration with young people, schools, and educators, ClimHope aims to contribute to both academic research and practical outreach. The findings are expected to support broader work on sustainability, well-being, education, and climate action.
Funding and affiliations
ClimHope is funded by the Eudaimonia Spearhead call (2026–2029) at the University of Oulu, and is affiliated with the Frontiers of Arctic and Global Resilience (FRONT) research program and the SERSus research group.