Is there a climate generation gap?

The age groups are aligned in mission, but not necessarily in tactics

By James Gaines September 22, 2025 in Anthropocene

In 2019, singer Billie Eilish (then 19), captured the building frustration of many young people when she said, “Hopefully the adults and the old people start listening to us so that we don’t all die. Old people are gonna die and don’t really care if we die, but we don’t wanna die yet.” 

Ouch.

But is it true? The climate generation gap, it turns out, isn’t so cut and dry. Age might not make that much of a difference in how important folks think climate change is. And both younger and older people seem to engage in climate denial in roughly equal amounts.

That said, there are important differences between generations. Here we dive headfirst into the climate generation gap. What’s really in it? And what are the different things the old and young bring to the climate movement?

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The Elderly of the Future

1. Mad as Hell. In a climate-changed world, young people are the pessimists. They report feeling more fear, guilt, and outrage than their elders. And, they’re more likely to think climate change will make their lives harder and their community a worse place to live.They’re also more likely to think that it’s too late to completely stop climate change and to doubt that their individual actions matter. In fact, this general dourness has set off a wave of op-eds against climate doomer-ism.

Source: Pew Research Center

2. And Not Going to Take it Anymore. That said, a little pessimism can be useful. When a team of researchers tested a range of emotions, they found that anger—not hope—most strongly fueled activism. Gen Zers are significantly more likely (by about 10 percentage points) than Boomers and older generations to actually go do something about climate change, even if they are more glum about how much that action matters. That includes working within the system (such as the kids who joined the UN’s Youth Advisory Group) and more extreme measures, such as kids interrupting a New York Times event or throwing paint on a Picasso. And while these more radical protests may spark backlash, they might actually leave the climate movement stronger afterwards. 

anger—not hope—most strongly fueled activism.

3. And Litigious. Young people are also taking their anger to court. Since 2015, there have been a number of high-profile lawsuits brought by young people, which has resulted in victories for climate activists in Montana and Hawai’i. The most prominent one in the US was effectively shuttered by the Supreme Court. But that hasn’t stopped the flow of cases, including a new round of lawsuits against President Trump this May. As of 2023, over 2,300 similar lawsuits had been filed around the world. There isn’t an agreed-upon number for how many climate change lawsuits have been won, but a late 2024 report shows that over 70% of completed cases concerning misleading environmental claims by corporations have been successful. A research team surveyed 1500 cases and found that the success rate might be even better if they incorporated more of the latest science.

over 70% of completed cases concerning misleading environmental claims by corporations have been successful

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The Youth of the Past

1. The Ballot Box. In the 2020 US election, about three-quarters of people 65+ turned out to vote, compared to only half of folks 18-24. Retirement age folks are now the second largest group after 18-34 year-olds to list climate as one of their top priorities. And climate concerns may have the power to tip elections (as Anthropocene covered last year). Middle-age folks, catch up.

Source: Environmental Voter Project

2. The Bank Account. These growing concerns are also leading many older folks to put their money—that is, their retirement accounts—where their mouth is. These accounts, built up over a lifetime of working, are often made-up of investments in a lot of different companies—including fossil fuel companies. But there’s a growing movement among older folks to either fully divest from or use their investment funds to pressure companies. This has ranged from individual accounts to some pretty big ones like New York’s state pension fund for state government workers. Institutional pension fund managers are starting to pay attention as well.

growing movement among older folks to either fully divest from or use their investment funds to pressure companies.

3. The Memory Palace. The older generation’s edge isn’t just wealth, it’s also experience. Even though older folks may feel less personally threatened by climate change, they’re also more likely to say that they can identify ways that things have changed—winters that used to be colder, for instance, or changes in what animals are around. And sharing these stories may be important for combatting shifting baseline syndrome. Traditional knowledge can also be a tool for helping the climate—whether it comes from indigenous groups or even companies. It turns out older companies may be more green than younger ones. Standing the test of time means corporate cultures that can focus on adaptability and long-term planning—traits that may apply to environmental sustainability as well as fiscal.

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What To Keep An Eye On

1. Activists aging up. A lot of young climate activists made names for themselves as teenagers during the Obama or first Trump administrations. But that was ten years ago and these kids are no longer kids. They’re early or mid-20’s adults with college classes and careers to navigate. The New York Times did a fascinating look at a cohort of these young people, it’s worth checking out.

2. Intergenerational altruism. Last year, Anthropocene covered a science paper looking at intergenerational altruism—basically how much people were willing to sacrifice for future generations. The interesting thing is that the researchers figured out a trick to activate it: having people do the math about how many descendants they may have in three or four generations. Try picturing an auditorium’s worth of little-you’s somewhere out in the future and let us know how that makes you feel.

3. Shifting focus. Compared to previous years, this generation of young climate activists is leaning more into what researchers call intersectionality. That is, they’re banding climate together more with other activist causes, like feminism, fighting homelessness, or social justice. Does this broadening focus risk the movement losing effectiveness or is it the key to real change?