According to new research, Millennials and Generation Z are more concerned about the effects of climate change than older generations such as Generation X, baby boomers, and those born after World War II.
The exploration by the Middle for Environmental Change and Social Changes (CAST), at Cardiff College and the College of Shower, gathered information across the U.K. to look at generational contrasts in mentalities towards environmental change.
The first-of-its-kind study found that younger age groups were more emotionally invested in the subject of climate change than older age groups. Despite the significant generational differences in climate-related emotions, the researchers also discovered that understandings and perceptions of climate change were more comparable.
“It is widely believed that younger generations are more engaged with climate change than older generations, but that has never been studied systematically,” stated lead author Professor Wouter Poortinga of Cardiff University.
“It is widely assumed that younger generations are more concerned about climate change than older generations, but this has never been thoroughly investigated.”
Lead author, Professor Wouter Poortinga of Cardiff University,
“We found that younger generation groups had higher levels of climate-related beliefs, perceptions of risks, and emotions in our study.
“However, the main difference between generations regarding climate change is their emotional responses to it, not their beliefs about it. For instance, there are no generational contrasts in convictions in the causes and effects of environmental change, albeit more established age groups are bound to believe that we are as of now feeling the impacts of environmental change.”
According to the research team, one of the reasons why younger generations exhibit higher levels of activism and engagement with the issue may be their diverse emotional responses to climate change.
The review utilized information from CAST’s broad agent studies, led in 2020, 2021, and 2022. These yearly overviews give insights into the public’s impression of environmental change, making an inquiry of 1,000 respondents from across the U.K.
“While there is boundless familiarity with environmental change across all ages, more youthful people feel significantly more undermined by it and have more grounded, profound responses. Given that younger generations will bear the brunt of the effects of climate change more than older generations, that is not entirely surprising,” Professor Poortinga stated.
The group proposes that pessimistic feelings can negatively affect the more youthful generations’ prosperity, despite the fact that they can likewise be a significant driver of environmental activity.
“However, we must be careful not to place the burden of addressing climate change on younger generations. People of more seasoned ages have an obligation to make a move now to relieve environmental change for people in the future,” added Teacher Poortinga.
More information: Wouter Poortinga et al, Generational differences in climate-related beliefs, risk perceptions and emotions in the UK, Communications Earth & Environment (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-00870-x
