Preparing future psychologists for the impact of the climate crisis

Last week the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences (PALS) welcomed Bill McKibben, internationally acclaimed environmentalist and climate activist, to discuss the psychology of destroying a planet.

Bill is currently at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. Among other books, he wrote The End of Nature (1989), considered the first general audience book on global warming. He also regularly writes for magazines such as the New Yorker and Rolling Stone, is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has honorary degrees from 20 colleges and universities.

Bill has been awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize and Right Livelihood Award. He also helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign. Watch a recording of his talk. 

A UCL module is equipping students with the knowledge and skills they will need in their future careers to engage with the threat posed by the climate crisis. Dr Fred Dick (PALS), who co-leads the module, said: “The sole underlying driver of climate change is human behaviour, which can be very hard to change. It’s vital for psychologists and behavioural scientists to understand the basic mechanisms of global heating so they can identify which behavioural interventions will be the most effective in reducing carbon emissions.”