How an activist's self-immolation exposed the dark reality of "climate grief"

The country writ large seems to be stricken with various forms of climate grief. A 2020 Pew Research Center poll found two-thirds of Americans think the government should do more to curb climate change. Still, a Pew poll published last month found a majority of Americans believe the world won’t do enough to avoid climate change’s worst effects.

That prompted climate expert Edward Carr, who co-authored the recent U.N. report on climate change, to tell NBC News he’s “a little concerned the narrative of fear around climate change, which grabbed people’s attention, has crossed the curve and become disempowering.”

He makes a good point. Climate change is a harrowing ordeal to grapple with. The task for U.S. officials is to frame the issue as one that Americans can still influence for the better and to demonstrate this by offering policies that will make a significant impact.