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Science has established that climate change is leading to major consequences for the planet. But what do people believe about climate change, and do those beliefs differ among age groups?
Surveys around the world show that public concern about climate change has been steadily increasing over the past two decades. But there is some evidence of a generation gap regarding concerns over climate change; that is, younger people are more likely to believe people are causing climate change compared to older people. One reason may be that younger people are more likely to experience more drastic and devastating effects of climate change in their lifetimes compared to older people. But is that climate generation gap real?
A study by New Zealand researchers published in the journal Nature Communications attempts to answer that question. The researchers used data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a longitudinal study that has been assessing New Zealanders’ beliefs on a range of topics since 2009. The study analyzed data to find whether people of different ages had different beliefs about climate change, and whether those beliefs increased or decreased at the same rate over time.
The study did find a generation gap in beliefs about climate change. People born more recently were more likely to agree that humans are causing climate change, and that it is having consequential effects on the planet. However, this pattern may be changing.
The researchers also found that, over the last 10 years, agreement about climate change is increasing among people of all ages. People in different age groups began with different levels of beliefs about climate change (with older adults less likely to believe in climate change), but public opinion among older adults is increasing at the same rate as for younger people.
Addressing climate change will require all of us to adapt. We’ll need to be open to new information and innovative ways of doing things, and we’ll need to alter our daily habits and life styles to stop the planet from warming.
The fact that older adults’ beliefs are changing is good news, the study authors note, because it indicates that our mindsets are malleable at all ages – an quality we will all need to address this pressing, global problem.