“When we collaborate respectfully, we’re unstoppable”: How our youngest and oldest generations are uniting against climate change
Written by Eleanor Tait on 24th June 2025
The modern world poses many discussions over which our youngest and oldest generations are painfully divided; technology, politics, fashion – the list goes on.
But in an unusual – or perhaps more aptly, alarming – turn of events, young people in the UK and their seniors are finding themselves united by a cause which threatens devastation for their generations and beyond; the climate crisis laying waste to our planet.
Recent research conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) probed attitudes across the UK on a number of nationally significant issues.
Remarkably, their data showed that our youngest and oldest members of society are curiously aligned in their sense of value for the environment.
Asked ‘What do you think are important issues facing the UK today?’, 59% of 16-29 year olds surveyed responded with ‘climate change and the environment’.
In an exact reflection of their younger counterparts, 59% of people aged over 70 echoed that ‘climate and the environment’ were significant concerns.
Charlotte Lastoweckyi at the UK Youth Climate Coalition agrees that this data seems to translate into real life.
“Whether someone’s 16 or 80, we all share a stake in the future of our planet,” she said.
“We’re seeing more and more intergenerational solidarity: older activists bringing wisdom from past movements, and younger people bringing fresh energy and urgency.
“Older activists have invaluable experience, from anti-nuclear campaigns to trade union struggles, and a fierce belief in collective power.
Adding: “Young people often bring new organising tactics, think digital campaigns and youth assembles, and a push for urgency.
“When we collaborate respectfully, we’re unstoppable.”
Image credit: Eleanor Tait – data sourced from the Office for National Statistics (2024)
Interestingly, the ONS data not only reveals that these generations align in their worries about the environment, but that they consider it a more important issue than any other age group.
Only 55% of 50-69 year olds and 54% of 30-49 year olds considered ‘climate change and the environment’ to be an important issue facing the UK today.
Although the disparity between the concerns of our mid-life population and those of younger and older people is very slight, it’s worthy of discussion.
Charlotte emphasises that this statistic doesn’t mean these age groups care less, rather that they tend to have more immediately pressing quotedian concerns.
“It’s often less about caring and more about capacity: this group is juggling careers, families, mortgages – and a system that doesn’t reward long-term action.
“Burnout, disillusionment, or feeling that ‘big politics’ isn’t for them can pull people away.”
In this light, the data not only reveals an alliance between those at either end of the generational spectrum, but perhaps a need to examine how climate politics currently fit into the day-to-day for our mid-life population, and whether it is possible that this could change in the future.
“We need to make climate justice feel accessible – rooted in community, livelihoods, and everyday life,” Charlotte says.
“We’re hopeful that as extreme weather events and injustices become harder to ignore, concern will continue to rise. But awareness alone isn’t enough – it needs to turn into bold policies and cultural shifts.
“By weaving together grassroots organising, inclusive storytelling and genuine intergenerational partnerships, we can build a movement where everyone feel they belong – and where everyone’s voice counts.”
