Community focus on climate crisis could engage older people

Talking about the climate crisis in a community context could engage older people more in conversation, research has found.

A study by King’s College London discovered that discussing the crisis in relation to caring for others and working together to find solutions could strongly resonate with the older population.

Conducted by MA Climate Change: History, Culture, Society graduate, Briony Latter, over 65s from across England were brought together to discuss climate narratives.

As the fastest growing age demographic and making up the highest percentage of voters, over 65s could play an incredibly important role when it comes to tackling global heating.

In the study the group felt the best way to solve the crisis was to bring communities together to create positive changes, focusing on protecting the environment.

They also felt more emphasis should be place on who bears responsibility, but the group couldn’t agree on which age group is mostly to blame.

However, some recognised their own ability to make a change and find solutions to protect the planet.

The research found four key themes that were most important to older people when discussing the climate crisis – consideration and responsibility, community, power, and an international outlook.

Ms Latter, who’s research won King’s Best Thesis Award in 2018, said: ‘Whilst there’s rightly been a lot of focus on the younger generation in recent years, there’s been much less attention on older people despite the important role they could play and the impacts that climate change will have on them. This means it’s imperative that we have a better understanding in how to engage this group when we talk about climate change.’

In related news, only four in ten parents (44%) of 16-18 year old’s believe the UK is teaching students about the climate crisis, according to research from organisation Universities UK. 

Photo by Philippe Leone