The prevailing notion suggests younger generations exhibit greater concern for climate change compared to their older counterparts. This perception seems intuitive, considering younger generations' upbringing amidst growing awareness of climate change and their heightened vulnerability to its consequences. Recent literature even indicates that climate-related anxiety is impacting the well-being of children and young people as they confront the threats of a warming planet. Young climate activists garnering significant media attention further reinforce this idea of a generation gap in climate change engagement. However, the extent and nature of this generation gap remain unclear due to inconsistent findings across various studies. While some research reveals age-related differences in beliefs about climate change—older individuals displaying more skepticism—other studies report minimal or no age differences. This inconsistency might stem from methodological differences and the inconsistent use of outcome measures. Previous studies often employed variables such as climate change beliefs (propositional cognitions about climate change) and climate concern (emotional state stemming from an affective evaluation of climate change impacts). Risk perception, a related yet distinct construct, can be categorized into perceived likelihood and seriousness, generalized concern, and personal worry. The emotional response to climate change includes worry, concern, fear, and anxiety. Climate fear and anxiety, potentially more debilitating than concern and worry, warrant specific attention. This comprehensive model of climate engagement posits a hierarchical relationship between climate-related beliefs, risk perceptions, and emotions, with more affective constructs reflecting a higher level of engagement. Therefore, it's crucial to distinguish between these components to understand generational differences.

Existing research on generational differences in climate change engagement presents a mixed picture. Some studies show younger generations holding stronger beliefs in the reality and human-caused nature of climate change and expressing greater concern. Other studies, however, find minimal or no significant age differences in climate change beliefs or concern, suggesting the issue is more nuanced than initially perceived. Methodological inconsistencies, such as the use of different outcome measures and varying sample populations, could contribute to these contradictory findings. The lack of a consistent definition and measurement of 'engagement' across studies complicates the identification of clear generational trends. Some research focuses on belief and knowledge, while others emphasize emotional responses or behavioral intentions. This review highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach that considers multiple facets of climate engagement, including cognitive aspects (beliefs, risk perceptions) and affective dimensions (emotions, concern, anxiety). This multi-faceted approach is crucial to understanding the complexities of generational differences and providing a more robust foundation for future research and policy interventions.

This study uses data from three cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys conducted in the UK in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The surveys, administered by DJS Research, employed online panels to recruit participants, ensuring a broadly representative sample of the British population. Quotas were used to balance gender, age, region, and socioeconomic status. The data collection methodology remained consistent across all three survey waves. The first wave (2020) involved 1893 participants, including booster samples in Scotland and Wales. Subsequent waves (2021 and 2022) comprised 1001 and 1087 participants, respectively. Ethical approval was obtained from the School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee for each wave. The surveys measured climate-related beliefs, risk perceptions, and emotions using a combination of items. Climate-related beliefs were assessed using questions on the perceived causes of climate change (using a 5-point scale ranging from entirely natural to entirely human-caused), perceived temporal distance of climate change impacts (recoded into a binary variable representing whether respondents believed the UK was already experiencing effects), and perceived urgency of addressing climate change (using a 5-point scale). Climate-related risk perceptions were examined using questions on the perceived impacts of climate change on the UK, and the perceived threats to self and family and to the UK (both using 5-point scales). Climate-related emotions included worry, fear, guilt, and outrage (all measured on 5-point scales). Participants were categorized into six generational groups (Post-War, Boomers I and II, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z) based on birth year, reflecting the widely used generational classifications in the Western world. Covariates included gender, education level, political orientation, and home nation. Data analysis involved linear and logistic regression models and multilevel repeated measures models. The linear and logistic regressions examined differences across generations for each climate-related measure. Multilevel models treated the nine belief, risk, and emotional measures as repeated measures nested within individuals, allowing for the analysis of cross-level interactions between generation and measure type. Generation Z was the reference group for all analyses. All analyses controlled for gender, education, political orientation, and home nation.

The study reveals an overall pattern of higher levels of climate-related beliefs, risk perceptions, and emotions among younger generations, particularly in 2020. While generational differences appear less pronounced in 2021 and 2022, the overall pattern persists, though with some fluctuation. Linear and logistic regression analyses show that in 2020, no significant differences existed in perceived causes and urgency of climate change, but the Boomer II group was more than two and a half times more likely than Generation Z to believe that the UK was already experiencing climate change effects. The study also notes that younger generations reported higher levels of perceived threats and worry about climate change. However, fewer significant differences between generations were observed in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Boomers II and older groups showed higher beliefs in climate change being human-caused, which was not observed in 2022. Multilevel regression analyses further revealed that in 2020, the two baby boomer groups exhibited less engagement with climate change across all nine measures (beliefs, risk perceptions, emotions). Differences in engagement were primarily due to variations in climate-related risk perceptions and emotions, with less variation in climate-related beliefs. In 2021, the generational gap diminished. The gap was smaller in 2022 than in 2020, with emotional engagement remaining the most consistent area of generational difference. An overall analysis combining all three years indicates that Generation X and the two baby boomer groups showed less engagement than Generation Z, primarily driven by differences in risk perceptions and emotions. No differences were found between Millennials and Generation Z. Intraclass correlation (ICC) values, indicating shared variance across measures attributable to individuals, were around 0.35 across all three years, suggesting a substantial individual-level component to climate change engagement.

The study's findings provide further evidence that age is not strongly related to climate change skepticism, but is a significant factor in threat perceptions, worry, and other emotions. Younger generations demonstrate stronger emotional engagement with climate change despite minimal differences in cognitive beliefs. The high levels of fear reported by younger generations could have both negative (debilitating) and positive (motivational) implications. The diminishing generational gap observed between 2020 and 2021/2022 might be attributed to increased media coverage of climate change. Notably, older generations are more likely to perceive that the UK is already experiencing climate change effects, potentially explained by the shifting baseline syndrome, where current conditions are compared to less extreme past experiences. The research highlights the importance of distinguishing between cognitive and emotional aspects of climate change engagement. While previous studies have focused on specific constructs, this study examines generational differences across a broader range of climate-related measures. This is a significant contribution to the literature, providing a more nuanced and complete understanding of generational dynamics in climate change perceptions.

This study demonstrates that generational differences in climate change engagement are primarily driven by emotional responses rather than beliefs about the existence or causes of climate change. Younger generations express stronger feelings of fear, guilt, and outrage. While the overall generational gap appears to have narrowed from 2020 to 2022, this is mainly due to increased agreement among older generations on the reality and urgency of climate change. However, the emotional response disparity continues to exist across all years. Future research should explore the implications of these emotional responses for younger generations' well-being and examine how communications strategies can bolster emotional engagement among older generations to benefit future generations.

The cross-sectional nature of the study limits the ability to definitively determine whether the observed generational differences are due to cohort effects (shared experiences of different generations) or developmental effects (changes in attitudes as individuals age). Longitudinal studies would be needed to disentangle these effects. The study also relied on self-reported data, which might be subject to biases. Furthermore, the generational groupings, while commonly used, have limitations, with some groups spanning longer time periods than others and Generation Z having smaller sample sizes potentially affecting statistical power. Finally, the study's focus is on the UK, and the findings might not be generalizable to other cultures.