This research investigates the relationship between the age of Members of Parliament (MPs) and their engagement in legislative debates on climate change. Parliamentary debates are vital for shaping policies and influencing public opinion, particularly on pressing issues like climate change. The study posits that younger MPs, potentially due to their greater personal stake in the long-term consequences of climate change and career-seeking incentives, will exhibit higher levels of participation in climate-related debates. This is examined within the context of Germany, where climate change salience has increased significantly in recent years. The study addresses the underrepresentation of young people in parliaments globally and seeks to understand how this descriptive underrepresentation translates into substantive representation in legislative action. The research questions whether the age of MPs significantly affects their participation in parliamentary debates on climate change, controlling for other variables. The German Bundestag provides a relevant case study due to the growing importance of climate change in the German political landscape.

Existing research highlights the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on MPs' legislative behavior, including gender, migration background, and disability. However, the impact of MPs' age has been largely overlooked, despite evidence of youth underrepresentation in parliaments worldwide. Studies focusing on youth underrepresentation mainly concentrate on quantifying the extent of this disparity and exploring potential remedies. This study departs from this approach, focusing instead on how the existing age imbalance affects MPs' actions. Existing literature supports the view that MPs' legislative behavior is influenced by competition for re-election and re-nomination and strategic positioning on salient issues. The paper draws on theories of office-seeking behavior, emphasizing the strategic actions of MPs to maximize re-election chances. It also incorporates the idea that MPs' personal characteristics can influence their engagement with specific policy areas, illustrated by research on MPs with migrant backgrounds and women MPs.

The study utilizes an original dataset comprising all parliamentary debates on climate change in the German Bundestag from 2013 to 2021. This period witnesses a marked increase in public concern regarding climate issues in Germany. The dataset includes information on the number of speeches delivered by each MP on climate-related topics. The analysis focuses on the relationship between MPs' age and their speech contributions, controlling for several key variables. These controlling variables likely account for other factors that might influence MPs’ participation in climate change debates. These variables likely include party affiliation, membership in relevant parliamentary committees, and potentially other demographic factors. The study likely employs statistical methods such as regression analysis to assess the relationship between age and speech contributions while controlling for these other factors. The researchers likely employed various statistical techniques to control for confounding factors and assess the significance of age as a predictor of MPs' participation in climate change debates. The exact statistical techniques will be clarified in the paper.

The study reveals a positive correlation between younger age and the number of speeches given on climate change issues in the German Bundestag. Younger MPs consistently contributed more speeches to climate-related debates than their older colleagues throughout the 2013–2021 period. This relationship remains significant even after controlling for several potentially confounding variables. The findings suggest that younger MPs are more actively involved in climate change debates than their older counterparts. Graphical representations of the data, likely scatter plots showing the relationship between MP age and number of speeches on climate issues, further strengthen the findings. Additional analyses likely broke down the findings by specific years or by political party affiliations, showcasing the consistency of the results. The study may also have used the graphical representations to showcase any variations in the relationship between age and speech contributions across different years or different political parties.

The findings support the hypothesis that younger MPs are more likely to be advocates for climate action within parliamentary debates. This can be attributed to both their greater personal stake in the long-term effects of climate change and career-seeking incentives. By actively participating in climate debates, younger MPs can enhance their public profile and build support for their political careers. The results highlight the importance of considering the personal characteristics of MPs in understanding their legislative behavior and policy outcomes. The study’s findings suggest that the age of MPs is a significant factor in determining their engagement on climate change, particularly in contexts where such engagement can boost their public visibility. The results have implications for our understanding of legislative representation and highlight how individual characteristics shape the political responses to pressing issues such as climate change.

This research demonstrates the significant influence of age on MPs' involvement in climate change debates, suggesting that younger MPs act as advocates for climate action. The findings underscore the importance of considering personal characteristics alongside traditional political variables in understanding legislative behavior. Future research could explore these relationships across different countries and political systems, examining variations in the influence of age and other factors on climate policy engagement. Further investigation could focus on the interaction between age, party affiliation, and public opinion on climate change.

The study's focus on the German Bundestag limits the generalizability of the findings to other countries with different political systems and cultural contexts. The analysis relies on speech contributions as a proxy for engagement, which might not fully capture all aspects of MPs' climate action. Future research could explore other measures of engagement, such as participation in committee work or the introduction of legislative proposals, for a more comprehensive understanding.