Attitudes to climate change risk among older people in England: the role of intergenerational relationships

Valeria Bordone , University of Vienna
Tobias Wiss, JKU Linz
Marta Moroni, JKU Linz
Giorgio Di Gessa, University College London

Drawing on theoretical and empirical research on the association between parenthood and political preferences as well as on socio-demographic studies on the effects of grandparenthood, this paper explores heterogeneities in attitudes towards climate change risks across intergenerational relationships – in particular (grand)parenthood status and involvement in grandchild care. We hypothesise that intergenerational kin availability and exchanges with family members positively influence climate attitudes. We use data from the latest wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, 2023/24), where respondents are asked for their level of agreement with six statements on climate change risks (N = 6,670). Multinomial regression modelling was used to investigate how intergenerational relationships were associated with different levels of climate change concern, accounting for socio-demographic characteristics. Preliminary results show that grandparents who look after their grandchildren at least weekly report the highest levels of climate change concern, after controlling for age and educational attainment. Overall, this study highlights the importance of intergenerational ties in increasing climate concern, overcoming barriers to climate action and, thus, in handling the socio-ecological change of our time.

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 Presented in Session 9. Intergenerational Solidarity, Transfers and Responsibilities