What is a Climate Café Listening Circle (CCLC)? A CCLC is a confidential, welcoming and empathetic space – online or in person – where a we can gather to talk about – and listen to others – about anything climate related.

People – often strangers – can meet to talk about their experiences of being in a climate crisis, nature loss and living through rapidly changing circumstances. These may include feelings of fear, uncertainty, grief and loss.

Why go to a CCLC? Talking together about emotions is a strong contributor to psychological health because it gives participants an experience of support, companionship, and relief. The aim of these spaces is to talk, listen and share – and normalise sharing often difficult feelings – about climate change.

Some feelings might be generally avoided. It can be possible through this process to gain comfort from meeting others who also want to talk about it.

What do people talk about in a CCLC? Whilst the climate and ecological crisis is usually the main focus of the CCLC, sometimes people bring other related issues such war, pandemics, societal decline, and the collapse of what we know. All of these are welcome.

There is no advice, no talks, and no expectation that people will join a cause or take particular action. This is psychologically important, helping to create a supportive atmosphere.

Who can facilitate CCLCs? The sessions are led by trained facilitators who also take part in sharing their feelings and thoughts, as we are all impacted by these crises. The Climate Psychology Alliance has been key in providing training in CCLCs.

I trained with them in 2023 and again in 2025 to update my training. I have co-lead some CCLCs and am honoured to be offering these sessions as part of the work of Holistic Education.