Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
It’s not fun to think about climate change. It makes a lot of us feel scared, overwhelmed, and even helpless. But what if there was a place you could go to unpack all of these feelings? Today, we’re talking about places that are designed to do just that: Climate Cafes.
We had Emma Mejia and Hamid Torabzadeh from our Possibly Team look into this.
Emma Mejia: Hi, Megan!
Hamid Torabzadeh: Hello!
Megan Hall: So what is a climate cafe? Could I go there to get a pastry?
Emma Mejia: Great question! Climate Cafes are community gatherings designed for people to get together and talk about climate change.
Hamid Torabzadeh: These gatherings are called cafes, but they’re not like a coffee shop where you can buy a muffin. These cafes are really just events that happen every once in a while.
Emma Mejia: They originally began in Scotland, but now they’ve expanded around the globe.
Megan Hall: So, why do we need these gatherings?
Hamid Torabzadeh: Well, we know that thinking about and responding to climate change can cause people to feel:
Pop Soundbites: Helpless, Afraid, Depression, Concern,
Emma Mejia: A 2025 poll from the American Psychiatric Association shows that 40% of Americans say climate change affects their mental health. And more than a third of adults worry about climate change at least once a week.
Hamid Torabzadeh: And this stress can actually affect how we respond to climate change.
Emma Mejia: A study in Europe found that people with some climate anxiety are more likely to make decisions that will address climate change.
Hamid Torabzadeh: But people with higher levels of climate anxiety seem to be less likely to get involved.
Megan Hall: So some amount of anxiety is normal and even helpful, but too much could be counter-productive?
Hamid Torabzadeh: Yep. In addition to anxiety, some people may feel extreme emotions like grief and distress. Here is where climate cafes could play a role.
Emma Mejia: One small study in Canada found that people who attended climate cafes say that these spaces help them process their emotions, reduce burnout, and increase hope.
Megan Hall: What happens at a climate cafe?
Emma Mejia: To find out we took a trip up north and talked to someone who started a climate cafe of her own.
Smiely Khurana: My name is Smiely Khurana. I’m based in Vancouver, Canada, and I am the founder of Climate Wellness Network and The Sustainable Act
Hamid Torabzadeh: She says she started the cafe because of her own anxiety.
Smiely Khurana: In Vancouver, we’ve been experiencing more climate disasters and climate change. One year we had a huge atmospheric river, which caused flooding, and my hometown was underwater. I was already feeling climate anxiety but that is what sealed the coffin for me
Emma Mejia: Smiely felt isolated and powerless, so she started looking for a way to process all of these emotions. Eventually, she talked to a friend who runs a Climate Cafe in California
Smiely Khurana: So I just thought I’d start climate Cafe Vancouver
Hamid Torabzadeh: For her cafe, she takes a distinct approach
Smiely Khurana: I really focus on it being an action free space, versus coming and talking about what we can do to help.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Smiely leads her Cafes with a loose set of prompts, allowing her participants to take control of the conversation.
Smiely Khurana: It’s been so amazing to be able to meet and talk about Hey, I’m feeling this, you’re feeling this oh my gosh, we got each other. We’re not alone. And there’s a lot of power in that and finding community.
Emma Mejia: Smiely says this approach of processing emotions rather than taking direct action is important because:
Smiely Khurana: You can’t keep running with an empty tank. You gotta take care of yourself.
Hamid Torabzadeh: In addition to dialogue, participants in these Climate Cafes can try activities like art workshops, nature walks, and even dance.
Emma Mejia: In the future, Smiely hopes to partner with mental health providers and create trainings and resources for people who want to start their own Cafes.
Megan Hall: Are there any climate cafes closer to home that we can check out?
Emma Mejia: Yes. It’s not called a climate cafe, but there’s a Brown professor here in Rhode Island who runs a climate anxiety booth where she talks to people about climate change. She also sends out a regular newsletter about ways to process these emotions.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Yeah, you can call it a booth, a cafe, or just a gathering. No matter the name, it’s helpful to get together and process the way climate change makes us feel.
Megan Hall: Got it! Thanks, Emma and Hamid!
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “ask possibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and Ocean State Media.
