Climate Change & Mental Health in Madagascar, Kylie Jenner, Accidental Climate Educator? 2022 Climate Change Performance Index Top 10

CLIMATE CHANGE AND MENTAL HEALTH IN MADAGASCAR: A HEALTH SYSTEMS ECOLOGICAL APPROACH

Ten research teams shared $1.3 million in the eighth round of Harvard’s Climate Change Solutions Fund (CCSF) awards. Aiming for impact at both the local and global level, these projects will seek to reduce the risks of climate change, hasten the transition to renewable energy, diminish the impact of existing fossil fuels on the climate, understand and prepare for the effects of climate change, and propel innovations needed to accelerate progress toward a healthier, more sustainable future.

Karestan Koenen, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Christopher Golden, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Planetary Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health won for their project on climate change and mental health in madagascar.

Research will focus on developing and piloting the use of mental health assessment instruments for identifying and measuring the impact of priority mental health and psychosocial problems associated with climate change. The project will center around the population of Malagasy, Madagascar, an island nation experiencing a famine attributed to climate change.

The adverse effects of climate change on human physical and mental health remains largely understudied. Of the few empirical studies that exist, most are limited almost exclusively to high-income countries, and none has taken place in Madagascar. In developing reliable mental health assessment instruments, validated in the Malagasy context, the project promises to provide proof of concept that could be used in other settings facing climate-driven crises.

DEEPER DIVE: CCSF

2022 CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX TOP 10

Not long after COP26, the 2022 Climate Change Performance Index was released analyzing the work 60 countries and the EU have done so far to deal with climate change.. The annual report – which was jointly developed by Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network – highlights those nations leading in the categories of greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate policy.

Each country’s performance was judged and scored on the basis of its energy consumption, national emission targets, and creation and attainment of policy goals. While the report’s authors have expressed “hope for change,” they critically leave the first three positions of each category empty, citing that “no country performs well enough” to earn a high ranking. But some nations are making strides.

Here are the 10 countries that rank the highest in the Climate Change Performance Index:

1.         Luxembourg
2.         Denmark
3.         Morocco
4.         Netherlands
5.         Lithuania
6.         Portugal
7.         France
8.         Finland
9.         Sweden
10. India

Why does the Climate Change Performance Index matter to us? Peer pressure. Also, nothing like a wake up call. Out of rankings of 60 countries and the EU, the U.S. trailed the pack in 55th place.

The Climate Change Performance Index, has been published annually since 2005. 450 experts measure the climate policy performance of 60 countries and the EU. These nations, collectively, are responsible for 92% of greenhouse gas emissions. The index takes into consideration both the political promises and the net emissions per capita of each country.

Check out the links in the Deeper Dive section of theclimate.org/episodes to see the CCPI.

DEEPER DIVE: CCPI,  Rankings

KYLIE JENNER, ACCIDENTAL CLIMATE EDUCATOR?

TONE DEAF reality star Kylie Jenner lit up outrage and the internet this month after she posted an Instagram photo where she’s at an airport, locked in an embrace with her boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott, flanked by two shiny private jets. The caption read: “you wanna take mine or yours?”

@CelebJets, an automated account that tracks celebrities’ private flights, posted that Jenner had taken a 17-minute flight from one city to another in California. The criticism was swift, and the incident left many wary of the role that the wealthy play in climate change.

The Internet outrage against Jenner really amped up in the face of global damage wrought by climate change in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States. Sweltering heat domes, record-high temperatures, fires, floods, and droughts.

Why does Kylie Jenner’s tone deaf attitude matter to us? Well, leaving the Twitterverse aside for a moment, the comments under Jenner’s post that lit up like a wildfire are educational. To wit, the Boston Globe pointed out the world’s richest 1 percent have carbon footprints 175 times the size of those in the bottom 10 percent, and private jets are one reason why. One 2021 study found that per passenger private jets create up to 14 times more greenhouse gas pollution than commercial planes, and a stunning 50 times more than trains.

So, for all of us 99 percenters out there who are using public transportation, carpooling, biking or scootering and are NOT wreaking climate havoc by NOT taking 17-minute, 35-minute or even one hour private jet flights, congratulations for doing your part for the climate, daily.

DEEPER DIVE: Twitter