Earth Day 2025 blog: mental health in the climate crisis

To mark Earth Day 2025, Thrive LDN’s Ben Rossington highlights the hope amongst the climate crisis and how partnerships are forming in this space.

Amongst other things, I’m currently leading Thrive LDN’s Climate and Mental Health Action Partnership Programme – launched in April 2024 – which aims to help all Londoners take climate action that improves their mental health.

I’ve long been passionate about climate action and it’s a privilege to do this work alongside supportive colleagues.

Tuesday, 22 April 2025 marks the 55th Earth Day. It comes as the climate crisis is worsening and international action remains inadequate (see COP29), despite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning our window to secure a sustainable future is ‘rapidly closing’, and the World Health Organisation highlighting the threat climate change poses to health, including mental wellbeing. In my role, I think a lot about climate change’s mental health impacts.

However, there is also hope: climate actions, such as improving green spaces, help mitigate the psychological effects of climate change, while mental health initiatives, such as talking therapies, empower people to cope with climate impacts and take climate action.

Through our Climate, Environment, and Mental Health Action Forum, Thrive LDN is raising awareness of how community-driven climate action (e.g., campaigns to improve air quality) can improve mental wellbeing and address inequalities. We connect grassroots groups with policymakers to enable action.

Thrive LDN held an in-person meeting of the forum. Photos captured by Ben Wright.

We’re also developing digital tools to help Londoners process climate emotions and act to action benefit the planet and mental health (we’ve compiled a list of online resources), alongside submitting funding applications for further work.

Addressing climate-related mental health impacts can create a resilient, thriving London for everyone. See this piece by Good Thinking on what Londoners can do. Organisationally, through the forum, we’ve heard about emerging social value & sustainability networks which are advancing climate action and social value initiatives in the workplace. Indeed, at Transformation Partners in Health and Care (THPC) we’ve launched our own network to do exactly this.

Earlier this year too, London’s Great Mental Health Day took place on Friday, 31 January 2025 to raise awareness of mental health and London’s local support services. This year’s theme was ‘small actions for others’ and aimed to encourage compassionate community actions, and it was great to see these extend to climate-focused ones too.

So whilst there’s so much more to be done, I’m holding onto the hope and thankful for all those who have supported our partnership working.

Together we’re galvanised and working to create a London in which everyone can take meaningful climate action in their communities while also improving their mental health. Get in touch if you’d like to learn more or play your part in this.