It has been indicated that teachers’ emotions about climate change and their views on mitigation influence their instruction and students’ engagement in mitigation actions. The aim of the study is to explore Finnish secondary geography teachers’ emotions about the consequences of climate change, their strategies for coping with these emotions, and their views on climate change mitigation. Inductive content analysis of data collected through individual interviews (N= 13) was performed. The teachers used emotion-focused, problem-focused, and meaning-focused strategies to cope with negative emotions. They ascribed responsibility for mitigation to politicians and individuals. Commonly, the teachers took elementary actions to reduce their impact on the climate. Only part of the teachers realized that they could contribute through teaching. With the ultimate aim of promoting students’ engagement in climate change mitigation, guidelines pertaining to education that targets teachers’ emotions, coping strategies, and their views on mitigation are presented.

Ambusaidi, A., Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M., & Taylor, N. (2012). Omani pre-service science teachers’ views about global warming: Beliefs about actions and willingness to act. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 7, 233–251. Retrieved from http://www.ijese.com/IJESE_v7n2_Ambusaidi-et-al.pdf

Anderson, A. (2012). Climate change education for mitigation and adaptation. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 6, 191–206. doi: 10.1177/0973408212475199

Bangay, C., & Blum, N. (2010). Education responses to climate change and quality: Two parts of the same agenda?International Journal of Educational Development, 30, 359–368. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2009.11.011

Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M., Skamp, K., Rodriguez, M., Malandrakis, G., Fortner, R., ... Hye-Gyoung, Y. (2014). An international study of the propensity of students to limit their use of private transport in light of their understanding of the causes of global warming. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23, 142–165. doi: 10.1080/10382046.2014.891425

Chawla, L., & Flanders Cushing, D. (2007). Education for strategic environmental behavior. Environmental Education Research, 13, 437–452. doi: 10.1080/13504620701581539

Cheng, I. N. Y., & So, W. W. M. (2015). Teachers’ environmental literacy and teaching – stories of three Hong Kong primary school teachers. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 24, 58–79. doi: 10.1080/10382046.2014.967111

Chhokar, K., Dua, S., Taylor, N., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2012). Senior secondary Indian students’ views about global warming, and their implications for education. Science Education International, 23, 133–149. Retrieved from http://www.icaseonline.net/sei/june2012/p3.pdf

Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 62, 107–115. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x

Fahey, S. J. (2012). Curriculum change and climate change: Inside outside pressures in higher education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44, 703–722. doi: 10.1080/00220272.2012.679011

Finnish National Board of Education. (2004). National core curriculum for basic education 2004. Helsinki, Finland: Author.

Finnish National Board of Education. (2014). National core curriculum for basic education 2014. Helsinki, Finland: Author.

Finnish State Administration’s Steering Group for Climate Communications. (2015). Ilmastobarometri 2015. [Climate Barometer 2015]. Retrieved from http://www.ym.fi/download/noname/%7B22C22786-B04F-464B-8640-87DE9349C365%7D/108389

Folkman, S. (2008). The case for positive emotions in the stress process. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 21, 3–14. doi: 10.1080/10615800701740457

Frijda, N. H. (1986). The emotions. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Grahn, A. (2011). Fakta, normativitet eller pluralism? Didaktiska typologier inom gymnasieskolans geografiundervisning om klimatförändringar [Facts, normativity or pluralism? Didactic typologies in upper secondary schools geography teaching about climate change]. (Licentiate thesis). Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Hermans, M. (2014). Geografilärares och niondeklassares syn på undervisningen om klimatförändringen [Geography teachers’ and ninth graders’ views on climate change education]. Nordic Studies in Science Education, 10, 176–194. https://www.journals.uio.no/index.php/nordina/article/view/811/873

Hermans, M., & Korhonen, J. (in press). Ninth graders and climate change: Attitudes towards consequences, views on mitigation and predictors of willingness to act. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education.

Hestness, E., McGinnis, J. R., Riedinger, K., & Marbach-Ad, G. (2011). A study of teacher candidates’ experiences investigating global climate change within an elementary science methods course. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 22, 351–369. doi: 10.1007/s10972-011-9234-3

Hobson, K., & Niemeyer, S. (2012). “What sceptics believe”: The effects of information and deliberation on climate change scepticism. Public Understanding of Science, 22, 396–412. doi: 10.1177/0963662511430459

Hufnagel, E. (2015). Preservice teachers’ emotional connections and disconnections to climate change in a science course.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52, 1296–1324. doi: 10.1002/tea.21245

IPCC. (2014a). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Working group II contribution to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

IPCC. (2014b). Climate change 2014: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of working group III to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

Jensen, B. B., & Schnack, K. (2006). The action competence approach in environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 12, 471–486. doi: 10.1080/13504620600943053

Kahan, D. M., Peters, E., Wittlin, M., Slovic, P., Oulette, L. L., Braman, D., & Mandel, G. (2012). The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks. Nature Climate Change, 2, 732–735. doi: 10.1038/nclimate1547

Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8, 239–260. doi:  10.1080/13504620220145401

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY: Springer.

Lee, H., Chang, H., Choi, K., Kim, S.-W., & Zeidler, D. L. (2012) Developing character and values for global citizens: Analysis of pre-service science teachers’ moral reasoning on socioscientific issues. International Journal of Science Education, 34,925–953. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2011.625505

Lehtonen, A., & Cantell, H. (2015). Ilmastokasvatus osaamisen ja vastuullisen kansalaisen perustana. [Climate change education as a foundation for competent and responsible citizens]. (Report No. 1/2015). Helsinki, Finland: The Finnish Climate Panel.

Lombardi, D., & Sinatra, G. M. (2013). Emotions about teaching about human-induced climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 35, 167–191. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2012.738372

Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography - Describing conceptions of the world around as. Instructional Science, 10, 177–200. doi: 10.1007/BF00132516

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research. A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ministry of Employment and the Economy. (2013). National energy and climate strategy. Government report to Parliament on 20 March 2013. Retrieved from https://www.tem.fi/files/36292/Energia_ja_ilmastostrategia_nettijulkaisu_ENGLANNINKIELINEN.pdf

Norgaard, K. K. (2011). Living in denial. Climate change, emotions, and everyday life. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Ojala, M. (2010). Barns känslor och tankar om klimatproblemen [Children’s feelings and thoughts about the climate issue]. Eskilstuna, Sweden: Energimyndigheten.

Ojala, M. (2012a). Regulating worry, promoting hope: How do children, adolescents, and young adults cope with climate change? International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 7, 537–561. Retrieved from http://www.ijese.com/IJESE_v7n4_Maria-Ojala.pdf

Ojala, M. (2012b). How do children cope with climate change? Coping strategies, engagement, and well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32, 225–233. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.02.004

Ojala, M. (2012c). Hope and climate change: The importance of hope for environmental engagement among young people. Environmental Education Research, 18, 625–642. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2011.637157

Ojala, M. (2013a). Emotional awareness: On the importance of including emotional aspects in education for sustainable development (ESD). Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 7, 167–182. doi: 10.1177/0973408214526488

Ojala, M. (2013b). Coping with climate change among adolescents: Implications for subjective well-being and environmental engagement. Sustainability, 5, 2191–2209. doi: 10.3390/su5052191 

Ojala, M. (2015a). Hope in the face of climate change: Associations with environmental engagement and student perceptions of teachers’ emotion communication style and future orientation. The Journal of Environmental Education, 46,133–148. doi: 10.1080/00958964.2015.1021662

Ojala, M. (2015b). Climate change scepticism among adolescents. Journal of Youth Studies, 18, 1135–1153. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2015.1020927

Otto, S., Kaiser, F. G., & Arnold, O. (2014). The critical challenge of climate change for psychology. Preventing rebound and promoting more individual irrationality. European Psychologist, 19, 96–106. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000182

Park, C. L., & Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology, 1, 115–144. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.1.2.115

Pettersson, A. (2014). “De som inte kan simma kommer nog att dö!” En studie om barns tankar och känslor rörande klimatförändringarna [“Those who can’t swim will die!” A study of children’s thoughts and feelings about climate change].(Licentiate thesis). Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.

Ratinen, I. J. (2013). Primary student-teachers’ conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect: A mixed method study.International Journal of Science Education, 35, 929–955. doi: 10.1080/09500693.2011.587845

Redman, E. (2013). Advancing educational pedagogy for sustainability: Developing and implementing programs to transform behaviors. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 8, 1–34. Retrieved from http://www.ijese.com/ IJESE_v8n1_Erin_Redman.pdf 

Roeser, S. (2012). Risk communication, public engagement, and climate change: A role for emotions. Risk Analysis, 32,1033–1040. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01812.x

Saylan, C., & Blumstein, D. (2011). The failure of environmental education (and how we can fix it). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Steg, L., & Vlek, C. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 309–317. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.10.004

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2015). Adoption of the Paris agreement. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/ l09r01.pdf