Seminar by Ellie Gordon: Understanding Climate Distress: Findings from the Australian Context

Ellie Gordon – PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at the Matilda Centre for Research on Substance Use and Mental Health at the University of Sydney will give a seminar about Understanding Climate Distress.

Australia offers a unique lens through which to examine climate distress as it is a country repeatedly confronted with the reality of a changing climate. This talk draws on findings from several studies conducted as part of my PhD research, exploring how young Australians experience and cope with the psychological burden of climate change.

I will first present findings from a study of 323 young people who lived through the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires, widely regarded as Australia’s most catastrophic wildfire event, an event that touched every Australian, directly or indirectly. This research examined attitudes and emotional responses to climate change, and traced the impact of climate distress on mental health and behavioural outcomes across a one-year period.

I will then share preliminary findings from the first wave of an ongoing longitudinal study, drawing on survey data from 420 Australians aged 18-30, alongside qualitative interviews conducted between late 2025 and early 2026. Together, these data provide insight into how young Australians experience climate change and climate distress in their daily lives, and what forms of support they want to help them cope. I will close by outlining our plans to co-develop the tools and resources that young people themselves are calling for.