VUB scientist Wim Thiery on climate anxiety

According to studies, a lot of young people are suffering from “climate anxiety”. Some adjust their life choices – not wanting children, for example. The fear of climate change can also turn into fatalism: the world is dying anyway, so why should we adapt our behaviour? VUB climate scientist Wim Thiery wants to temper that fear.

Professor Wim Thiery wants to make people more aware of climate change and ensure that the transition to a climate-neutral society accelerates. He uses various models, observations and satellite data to look at climate extremes and analyse lifetime exposure to them at different ages, in order to identify experiences of impacts. He strongly believes in the impact of climate youth on policy and the importance of science communication. “In a short period of time, young people have managed to make everyone in society aware of the urgency of climate change. I am impressed by their in-depth knowledge of climate science.”

“Personally, I think that as an important knowledge institution in one of the richest countries in Europe, we could be even more ambitious.”

The VUB has a climate plan, but is it ambitious enough?

“It is very important that the VUB now has a roadmap to be climate neutral by 2050. That target has to be met worldwide by then to limit warming to 1.5°C. Personally, I think that as an important knowledge institution in one of the richest countries in Europe, we can be even more ambitious.”

What could the VUB do more of?

“We should aim to do better than that global target. If we look at the carbon budget – that’s what we are still allowed to emit globally in total to stay within 1.5°C – it will be used up in six to seven years. If we look at how we distribute those emissions worldwide, then as a rich and developed country that has been emitting CO2 for a long time, we don’t really have any right to it anymore. What the VUB can do concretely to shift up a gear is to focus even more on sustainable education and research in order to provide society with solutions and experts in the transition. In terms of business operations too, our emissions have to come down as quickly as possible. This can be done by increasing the insulation of buildings, electrifying heating, accelerating the roll-out of heat pumps and renewable energy via solar panels on the roofs.”

What can students do?

“As both a student and a consumer, you can do a lot. For example, don’t fly, or fly less. You can also try to persuade your parents to break into their savings to pay for an energy-efficient renovation of their house. Eating less or no meat: every little helps, but the impact is limited to your own emissions. Besides that role as a consumer, you can also assume your role as a citizen. You can create support for an ambitious climate policy in the voting booth, you can communicate on social media about the importance of taking measures against climate change, you can argue for a safe future or remind politicians of their responsibilities. You can also work on climate litigation. In Belgium, 60,000 people recently took various governments to court. Those governments were subsequently convicted twice and must now adjust their ambition to emit 55% less by 2030. That can be called historic. It proves that, as an individual, you can indeed have a positive impact far greater than your personal emissions. The European Green Deal emerged from the driving force of young people’s climate protests. That is particularly hopeful.”