It’s not just climate: rethinking ‘climate emotions’ in the age of burnout capitalism

Just as political ecologists have critiqued narratives of ‘climate migration’ and ‘climate conflict’ for their implicit climate determinism, this article argues that scholars should move beyond climate-centric accounts of ‘climate emotions.’ To do so, I will critically analyze climate emotions scholarship through the lens of Feminist Marxist analyses of the ‘care crisis’ of neoliberal capitalism. By bringing these literatures together, this paper will demonstrate how emotional responses to ecological crises are conditioned and constrained by neoliberal capitalism’s exploitation of the emotional and caring capacities of workers (particularly women and racialized workers), which leads to the systemic production of burnout, apathy, and various mental health challenges. By deepening our analysis of the links between these crises and their shared capitalist roots, we will be in better position to develop strategies of socio-ecological transformation that can address what I call the ‘polycrisis’ of ecology, care, and mental health.