Séminaire du Laboratoire de psychologie sociale
Abstract
Challenging Climate Strikers’ Youthfulness: The shrinking generational gap in environmental attitudes in the Switzerland
In 2019, youth have taken to the street to express their fears and ambitions in relation to climate change. Alongside, many adult and senior citizens have expressed their solidarity. While the media present environmental issues as being generationally dividing, we know little about potential differences between age groups or cohorts in terms of environmental attitudes and worries. Our analyses of data on the participants to climate strikes in Switzerland show that while the movement was initiated by youth, the age composition of climate strike participants has become more diverse over time including members of all age groups. Furthermore, making use of panel data we explore how age differences evolved over the last twenty years. Our analyses show that indeed the share of individuals who would favor the environment over the economy is greater among younger cohorts. However, all cohorts have moved in parallel over the last twenty years following a non-linear but generally upward trend illustrating that the political context affects all age groups. Overall, our analyses contribute to understanding the incremental changes in public attitudes in the environmental area and the role played by generational renewal in these regards.
Jasmine Lorenzini travaille à l’institut d’études de la citoyenneté à l’université de Genève où elle dirige un projet de recherche sur les organisations alimentaires alternatives, ainsi qu’un projet sur les engagements des seniors pour le climat en collaboration avec Jan Rosset. Durant son doctorat, elle a travaillé sur les liens entre chômage de longue durée, inclusion sociale, bien-être et participation politique. Elle s’intéresse en particulier aux différentes formes de participation politique, aux changements dans les répertoires d’action et à leur contribution au changement social.
Ce séminaire sera entièrement en ligne. Voici le lien : https://unil.zoom.us/j/8123562508