Heated discussions: youth-led dialogue with older generations reveals unwitting silences and shared feelings about climate change

Abstract

Created by past and older generations, the climate crisis is an issue of intergenerational injustice for younger and future generations. However, little is known about how this temporal injustice is affecting intergenerational relationships in a changing climate. We report on an innovative study into the variety and complexity of affective intergenerational dynamics relating to climate change. We facilitated a two-day participant action workshop in Tasmania, Australia, in which 14 young people (15–19 years) conducted interviews with an important adult in their life from an older generation (36–82 years). Thematic analysis of youth-led interview transcripts, as well as transcripts of group activities with younger and older cohorts, revealed organising themes. Older participants described younger people as being more connected to global issues, such as climate change, than they were in their youth. While older participants told of becoming aware of climate change in adulthood, young participants narrated climate change as a constant presence in their lives. Participants discussed diverse emotional ways of coping with climate change, ranging from avoidance and apathy to anger and joy/hope, as well as the multiple pressures faced by young people. Our findings reveal that youth-led dialogue provides opportunities for both younger and older people to express their fears about climate change to each other, often for the first time, thereby reconfiguring intergenerational emotional dynamics and enabling recognition of differences in responsibility across the generations. Both young and older cohorts uncovered silences in their intergenerational relationships that were not previously recognised, enabling mutual learning and building empathy. The research shows how emotionally open, safe and facilitated dialogue between generations can disrupt generational binaries and foster opportunities for mutual support and cross-generational collaboration to address the unequal impacts of climate change.