Seniors also care about the planet
A study carried out in a dozen countries shows that over half of young people believe that "humanity is doomed" and blame previous generations for their inaction.
Najoua Tahri, University of MontpellierJacques Igalens and Ziad Malas, University of Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier
In 2019, activist Greta Thunberg was 16 years old when she proclaimed at the UN:
"If you decide to let us down, I'm telling you: we'll never forgive you.
It was aimed at governments, but also at the adults who run the world. The expression "ok boomer" symbolizes the political gap between generations, with young people in particular often appearing highly critical of their elders' management and reacting by adopting more environmentally-friendly behaviors. Beyond the symbolism represented by Greta Thunberg, there is indeed a gap in behavior between what is sometimes referred to as Generation Z (today's teenagers and adults aged 25) and the seniors, assimilated to the generation born during the baby boom (between 1944 and 1960), i.e. schematically the over-60s.
In Western Europe, the vegetarian diet is six times more widespread among the under-25s than among the over-55s. The importance of the car can also be seen as a sign of a generation gap: the car ownership rate of the over-60s is more than 10 points higher than that of the 18-25s in 2019, whereas the gap was zero in 2004. This is linked in particular to a lesser interest in driving licenses: whereas in 1981 in France, 90% of men aged 21 to 25 held a driving license, the proportion had fallen to 80% by 2008, an effect driven by young people in metropolitan areas.
More broadly, thecarbon footprint of the under-25s in wealthy countries is on average significantly lower than that of the over-60s.
Should we then pit young people committed to the environmental cause against egotistical senior citizens who are indifferent to it and prisoners of eco-phobic or even ecocidal representations and behaviors? The behavior of some of Total's (elderly) shareholders during the blockade of the company by climate activists might suggest as much.
Scientific studies provide more nuanced and often counter-intuitive answers to this question... A recent survey shows that older people are more interested in ecology than younger people, and that they are more prepared to act in accordance with their ideas than younger people. Above all, senior citizens have good reason to be concerned about the future of the planet...
Reasons specific to seniors
The elderly are more exposed to the consequences of climate change, they are more vulnerable to disease in general, and are also the most exposed to diseases generated or reinforced by global warming according to research conducted at Cornell University (USA).
When Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, 75% of those who died were aged over 60, even though this group represented only 16% of the population.
In France, in August 2003, an unprecedented heatwave caused 15,000 deaths during nine days of extreme heat. Europe is increasingly affected by such episodes, and the first victims are always the elderly. Not only do they dehydrate more quickly (because they don't feel the need to drink enough), but they often take medicines whose effect is potentiated by the heat, which weakens them instead of treating them...
Fine particles produced by road transport and industrial pollution hit them harder than young people. In poor countries, they are also at the forefront of gastric diseases due to the absorption of impure water as a result of pollution or global warming. In fact, if senior citizens are concerned about climate change, it's also because its effects are beginning to be felt, and they are the first to be affected.
The luxury of time and resources
In wealthy countries such as France, 60-80 year-olds generally enjoy a higher standard of living than younger adults, and have much greater wealth. In 2019, the average standard of living for 65-75 year-olds exceeded 27,000 euros per year, while it was just 23,000 euros for 18-29 year-olds. The gap in net wealth (real estate + savings - debts) is even more striking(a ratio of 1 to 9!).
However, poverty among the elderly is less frequent than among the young: the poverty rate for the over-65s is 8.6%, compared with 15.7% for the 25-29s and 22.7% for the 18-24s.
But having money means escaping the urgency of the present and worrying a little more about the future...
Income, because it enables us to consume more, is often associated with a [ higher carbon footprint]. But money also makes it possible to make more sustainable purchases: electric cars, better insulated homes, furniture and equipment that last longer, so that in the end, even if an increase in income doesn't lead to a smaller carbon footprint, it does seem to reduce the carbon footprint per euro spent.
To this difference in financial resources must be added the time available. Eco-responsible behavior, such as taking public transport or sorting waste, requires time, a resource that the over-60s are better endowed with (both because of retirement and the absence of young children in the home). As a result, older people often behave more eco-responsibly because they have more means to do so.
Generativity at the heart of commitment
Having the means isn't enough, you also need to be motivated to take action for the environment, and while older people are generally less aware of the link [ between human activity] and climate change, as they age, concern for the future of subsequent generations increases.
This is what psychologists call "generativity", or, in the words of American psychoanalyst Eric Erikson, "the concern to found and guide future generations".
This motivation is associated with more environmentally-friendly consumption choices, and also seems to explain the strong presence of 55-75 year-olds among volunteers working in associations. Finally, this generativity explains the many initiatives taken by older people directly in favor of the environment.
Seventy-somethings alongside XR activists
Alongside the young people of Youth for Climate and Extinction Rebellion (XR), more and more people in their seventies are lying on the ground to protest against the oil companies.
In practice, older people's civic commitment to the environment can take many forms, as illustrated by the examples of action taken by associations belonging to the " Grandparents for the Climate" network.
In the UK, lobbying of MPs and companies is commonplace, while in Belgium, the association is known for its campaign to redirect savings towards sustainable projects or "green" investments. In France, the association des grands parents pour le climat places greater emphasis on educational aspects and the fight against waste.
Intergenerational mutual aid
The generational differences mentioned above mask significant disparities within each generation, and correspond to two quite different effects. On the one hand, with advancing age, we "spontaneously" consume less at 75 than at 50, as we opt for a more "homely" lifestyle. On the other hand, as a recent ADEME study suggests, older generations are more adept at sobriety because they have experienced less prosperous times and have kept their "anti-gaspi" habits.
In a way, older people can teach younger people to adopt more sober lifestyles, even though the latter are often more aware of the need to act. In addition to education, older people can help the younger generations by the means at their disposal, notably through savings and donations to associations.
Finally, senior citizens themselves are changing their habits. In the United States, for example, the proportion of people over 65 buying solar panels has risen sharply since 2010.
The cliché of the senior citizen as polluter and reluctant to change can therefore change, and should not obscure the growing importance of environmental issues for the elderly, and above all their central role in the fight against global warming.
Najoua Tahri, Senior Lecturer in Management Sciences, IAE Montpellier and MRM, University of MontpellierJacques Igalens, Professor of Management Sciences, IAE Toulouse and CRM-CNRS and Ziad Malas, Associate Professor of Management Sciences, University of Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.