Supporting an exploration of resources in response to eco-anxiety and the climate emergency among young French Red Cross volunteers
This action-research aims to explore environmental concerns among young volunteers of the French Red Cross, in relation to their connections and tensions with the organisation’s activities, through the establishment and promotion of Climate Cafés, a method for sharing feelings about the environmental crisis in a group setting.
Humanitarian or social context and issues
The advance of the ecological crisis raises questions about the various areas of action of the French Red Cross. In the field of social action, the White Paper on Social Work (2023) analyses the place of social work in the ecological transition, highlighting how environmental inequalities exacerbate social inequalities (the most socially vulnerable are also the most exposed to pollution and the effects of climate change, while being the least contributors overall), emphasising the central role of social sector organisations in responding to crises and natural disasters, and warning that decarbonisation efforts in social and medico-social establishments are still in their infancy. Within the French Red Cross, environmental concerns are gaining ground, particularly among young people. In 2024, the Masterclass Gouvernance et Engagement (MaGE), made up of young people from four organisations including the Red Cross, carried out collective work on eco-anxiety. The national consultation conducted internally in 2023 among 1,500 young people under the age of 30 revealed that climate change is the primary cause for concern, ahead of other issues that are more relevant to the Red Cross’s work.
The research aims to understand what enables people to move from keeping their concerns to themselves to sharing them in a way that is more likely to lead to collective action, and to identify more precisely what factors prevent this at the individual, group or organisational level. What are the concerns and feelings of young people in the Red Cross regarding environmental issues? As ‘eco-anxiety’ emerges as a new social issue, how do these feelings circulate within the organisation? What are the resonances and tensions between ecological issues and the Red Cross’s objectives, activities, missions and culture? What conditions are needed to encourage people to speak out and listen to each other in a way that fosters collective action and transformation?
To what extent does eco-anxiety, as a social construct and as a psychological phenomenon, enable links to be made between the CRf’s areas of action and the ecological concerns of the organisation’s young volunteers?
Field of research and methodology
The research field consists of young volunteers from the French Red Cross (volunteers and employees under the age of 30), as well as individuals who promote and support youth and environmental initiatives within the organisation. The investigation combines two approaches:
- A group initiative based on the Climate Cafés method developed by the Climate Psychology Alliance: this involves small groups sharing their feelings about the ecological crisis in a confidential, friendly setting, co-facilitated by two people. As part of the SUREAU project, several Climate Cafés are organised with young volunteers, followed by training in facilitation for interested participants, with a view to co-facilitating Climate Cafés for Red Cross audiences.
- Interviews with participants in the Climate Cafés, with young people who have carried out inter-association work on eco-anxiety as part of the 2023-2024 Governance and Engagement Masterclass, and with employees involved in youth and environmental issues.
The method follows an action research approach, in which the research framework aims to support a dynamic of transformation, co-constructed with the actors involved. The research focuses both on the content of the interviews and focus groups and on the analysis of the process.
The scientific benefits of research for humanitarian and social actors
This action research aims to contribute to the circulation of ecological concerns within the French Red Cross, and to reflect on ways of dealing with them constructively, i.e. in ways that nurture the actors’ capacities for action, creation and collaboration. The focus on ‘eco-anxiety’ is not intended to limit the subject matter, but rather to encourage attentive listening to subjectivity, experiences of tension and the psychological burden associated with the subject in question – the current ecological crisis. Through the experimentation of a mechanism, the Climate Cafés, the aim is also to propose a methodological tool that can be appropriated by the actors, while questioning its limitations and possible adaptations in the specific context of the Red Cross.
The last five years have seen a proliferation of work on psychological suffering linked to the ecological crisis (incorporating sociological and political dimensions to varying degrees), as well as a large number of studies on the links and tensions between ecological issues and social work. The originality of this research lies in combining these two fields, exploring the subjective manifestations of ecological concern among young volunteers of the French Red Cross in relation to their commitment and activities within the organisation, which often focus primarily on issues other than ecology. It also involves experimenting with a group approach and exploring its effects in terms of empowerment and organisational transformation, in line with current research in the field of clinical psychosociology.
Biography
Jean Le Goff is a clinical psychosociologist, affiliated with the ESTA Center, and holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Paris-Cité. He works in the fields of ecology and social services, supporting professionals in workplace situations, helping them reflect on their activity and crises, and strengthening their capacities for action and cooperation. His research focuses on environmental activism, the subjective experience of environmental degradation, and the dynamics at work in organizations that integrate these issues into their practices. He is the author of Politicizing Eco-Anxiety (Éditions du Détour, 2025).
Photo credit : Jean Le Goff and the French Red Cross