Report on older people and climate change

Citation

(2011), "Report on older people and climate change", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 3 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2011.41403aaf.001

Report on older people and climate change

Article Type: Feature From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 3, Issue 1

Climate change and an ageing population will have wide ranging socio-economic and environmental impacts. Public engagement is, therefore, critical to implementing policies to tackle climate change and to address the needs of an ageing population. This report presents the case for better engagement of older people on climate change issues in particular, and environmental issues in general. Older people may be physically, financially, and emotionally less resilient to the effects of climate change. At the same time, baby boomers are bringing higher levels of consumption to middle and later life. They currently have the highest carbon footprint of any other age group.

While older people are concerned about climate change, they do not feel they will be directly affected. Nor, often, do they feel they can personally take action to stop it. Older people want to do their bit to tackle climate change and reduce their carbon emissions but there is uncertainty over which actions are best to take. This report calls for old stereotypes of this age group, as being incapable of engagement, passive or disinterested, to be abandoned. It recommends new approaches to engage older people on climate change issues which promote direct interaction and the use of trusted agents that are sensitive to the personal circumstances faced at their particular stage of life.

The report outlines ten recommendations to improve and enhance the engagement of older people on issues related to climate change and greener living. The full document is available at: http://sei-international.org/publications?pid=1581