Climate Psychology Lab

➤Event: Cintia Díaz-Silveira Participates in the Events TRAMAS (01.07.26)

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira participated in the opening session of TRAMAS – Transformative Economies for a Just Ecosocial Transition, a Living Lab launched by Comillas Pontifical University as part of the EUPeace (European University for Peace) Living Labs network. The event, held on July 1, 2026, in Madrid, brought together nearly thirty participants from 25 organizations representing public administration, academia, the social and solidarity economy, civil society, and the business sector. The session aimed to identify the main challenges, needs, and opportunities for moving toward economic and organizational models that are more participatory, sustainable, and focused on caring for people and the planet.

➤Press Articles: Study on Emotions and Climate Action Garners Media Attention

The results of the research conducted by Anne-Marie Ballegeer, Enzo Ferrari Lagos, Rebeca Ferreira Corchero, Diego Corrochano Fernández, and Camilo Ruiz Méndez—researchers at the University of Salamanca—as part of the EMC³ Recognized Research Group (Education, Mathematics, Sciences, and Climate Change) and the Horizonte Verde Knowledge Transfer Group, with funding from the La Caixa Foundation, have received widespread coverage in national and regional media. By analyzing how the Spanish population emotionally copes with climate change and how these emotions relate to climate action, the results show that 44.4% of participants exhibit high levels of both concern and hope regarding the climate crisis, with this profile being associated with greater knowledge of the issue and a higher frequency of pro-environmental behaviors. The research also highlights the role of climate education as a tool for promoting action. These findings have been reported by various media outlets, helping to bring scientific research on climate emotions, eco-anxiety, and pro-environmental action closer to the public.

• El Norte de Castilla. Hope and Concern Drive Climate Action Among Young People (05.06.26)
• La Voz de Galicia. Young Spaniards: Concerned but Hopeful About Climate Action (05.06.26).
• La Rioja. Hope and concern are driving climate action among young people and adults in Spain (06.06.26).
• Universidad de Salamanca. USAL reveals that 44% of the Spanish population expresses high levels of concern about the climate crisis (16.06.26).
• Tribuna de Salamanca. Climate Change in Spain, According to USAL: 44% of the Population Reports High Levels of Concern (16.06.26).
• SalamancaHoy. The University of Salamanca warns: 44% of the Spanish population is concerned about the climate crisis (16.06.26).
• SALAMANCArtv AL DÍA. “People Are Experiencing Increasingly Intense Emotions”: The Salamanca Study on Climate Anxiety (17.06.26).

➤Positive Psychology in Times of Climate Emergency. 7th National Congress on Positive Psychology (13-16.05.26)

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira served as coordinator of the symposium “Positive Psychology in Times of Climate Emergency” at the 7th National Congress on Positive Psychology, held May 13–16, 2026, at the School of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Málaga and organized by the Spanish Society for Positive Psychology (SEPP). Under the theme “Building Hope Based on Scientific Evidence”, the conference brought together researchers and professionals to address the role of positive psychology in addressing some of today’s major challenges. Within this framework, the symposium coordinated by Cintia Díaz-Silveira focused on the psychological response to the climate emergency, exploring the role of emotions, well-being, and psychological resources in addressing this challenge.

➤Press Article: interview with Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira in the newspaper ElPlural (26.02.26)

The study conducted by Cintia Díaz-Silveira, María Luisa Vecina, María Alonso-Ferres, and Francisco Burgos on attitudes and emotions toward the climate emergency reveals that in Spain there is a high perception of severity but moderate sustainable behavior, where climate agency influences more than mere information. The results show that concern -rather than clinical eco-anxiety- predominates and that feeling capable of influencing the solution largely explains pro-environmental action. The research, promoted by the Social Observatory of the La Caixa Foundation, concludes that there is a persistent gap between awareness and action, determined more by emotions and beliefs than by objective data.

➤Second Prize at the 10th Complutense PhDay Conference (May 7, 2026)

Laura López-García presented the oral presentation “From Detachment to Agency in the Face of Climate Change: Three Environmental Profiles Among Spanish Youth” at the 10th Complutense PhDay Conference, held on May 7, 2026, and organized by the Graduate School of the Complutense University of Madrid. Complutense PhDay is an academic conference aimed at disseminating and sharing research conducted by doctoral candidates. Her presentation, which focused on identifying environmental profiles among Spanish youth and their relationship to climate agency, was awarded an honorable mention. This recognition highlights the quality and relevance of the research presented, as well as its contribution to our understanding of the psychological factors related to young people’s response to climate change.

➤Proposals from the scientific community in response to the climate emergency (ONAC) (05.02.26)

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira participates, as an advisor to the National Office for Scientific Advice (ONAC), in the preparation of the “Working document containing proposals from the scientific community in response to the climate emergency,” as a preliminary step to drafting the State Pact on the Climate Emergency.

➤URJC Social Council Award for Best Bachelor's Thesis

Celia Hurtado Infante has been recognized in the Social Council Awards for Young Researchers and Innovators at Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC). Her outstanding final-year research project, carried out under the supervision of Dr. Cintia Diaz-Silveira, was the winner in this rigorous competitive contest.
These awards are designed to recognize the best work (doctoral theses, master's theses, or bachelor's theses) defended at URJC during the corresponding academic year. The Social Council grants this award with the aim of promoting and encouraging research, fostering entry into research careers, and disseminating excellent scientific activity.

➤4th edition of Fòrum360-The Forum360 Social Observatory (24.11.25)

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira, accompanied by professors and members of the ClimatePsychologyLab, Dr. María Luisa Vecina and Dr. Anne-Marie Balleguer, participated in Forum 360, held at CaixaForum Macaya, an interdisciplinary space for reflection promoted by the Social Observatory of the ”Foundationla Caixa”. During this meeting, key social challenges such as inequality, mental health, demographics, and the climate emergency were addressed from a scientific evidence-based perspective. Of particular note was the presentation by Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira, invited to join the Moundtable: “Climate SOS: From frustration to action”, focusing on social perceptions of climate change and the psychological factors that influence pro-environmental behavior. Her presentation highlighted the gap between knowledge, perception, and action, as well as the role of emotions—such as anger, concern, or climate fatigue—in the design of effective public policies. Participation in this forum reinforced the group's presence in high-level scientific and social debate forums.

➤Meeting “Science and Society: Communicating in a World of Opinions”. Pirineos Vivos Educational Network Training Workshop: The Dialogue of Science. The Psychology of Climate Change. (25/27.11.25)

Speakers: Cintia Díaz-Silveira and María Luisa Vecina. November 25, 2025. Bagnères-de-Luchon, France

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira gave a workshop as part of the conference series Dialogues with science, aimed at environmental educators from thePirineos Vivos Educational Network (Spain and France). The activity focused on the importance of integrating Climate Change Psychology into Environmental Education programs, addressing how cognitive, emotional, and social factors influence the perception of climate risk and the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors. The workshop highlighted the need to move beyond purely informative approaches and toward educational strategies based on psychological evidence, aimed at fostering involvement, self-efficacy, and collective commitment in the face of the climate crisis.

➤Workshop on Emotions and Climate Change: Virtual Reality Immersions (22.10.25)

As part of the first #TodosSomosFCS conference held at Rey Juan Carlos University, the team conducted a workshop Emotions and Climate Change. During the activity, participants enjoyed an immersive virtual reality experience, in which they were exposed to two contrasting scenarios: a blue ocean teeming with marine life and, later, an ocean degraded and polluted by plastic waste. This experiential approach to environmental impact encouraged reflection on the emotional consequences of climate change.

➤Radio Program: Instituto de Resiliencia “Vivirmos nun mundo finito” (12.02.25)

Dr. Cintia M.ª Díaz-Silveira Santos, from Rey Juan Carlos University, participated in the program. Vivirmos nun mundo finito (episode 166), alongside Elena Martín, journalist, in a conversation focused on the phenomenon of eco-anxiety, understood as the anxious response associated with environmental degradation.

➤Radio Program: Psychology of Climate Change URJC-Onda Cero (27.06.24)

Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira participated in the Onda Cero Madrid Sur program, where she addressed, from a scientific perspective, the relationship between the global climate crisis and its effects on human behavior and emotional processes.

➤Press Article: Eco-anxiety, the chronic fear of climate apocalypse: “I live with it like someone who has an illness.” (04.12.23)

The news portal 20minutos publishes Dr. Cintia Díaz-Silveira's experience with eco-anxiety: a growing fear of the climate crisis that affects a large part of the Spanish population. Eco-anxiety, recognized by the American Psychological Association, requires media coverage that highlights the social relevance of this phenomenon and the importance of raising awareness about its effects. It also shows how information and connection with the natural environment intensify the perception of the problem. This is not a widespread mental illness, but rather an emotional response to a real threat.