Environmental Experiences and Attudes of Older Czechs in the Time of Accelerating Climate Change
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Two profound changes are on their way in Europe, both expected to culminate sometime between 2030 and 2050: unprecedented population ageing and unfolding impacts of climate change. In response, ‘climate gerontology’ has emerged to meet the challenges of those two phenomena. Some scholars see the population’s greying as one of the drivers of anthropogenic climate change; they perceive elders as those responsible for the current environmental problems and pose questions about intergenerational environmental solidarity and justice. The other position views older people as ‘perfect climate allies’ (Jewell 2017), embracing environmental generativity and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Research I participate in is part of the project ‘Ageing and Older People in the Time of Climate Change’ and is currently taking place in one urban and two rural settings in the Czech Republic. At the end of the summer, preliminary findings should be available for discussion. Localities, where the field research is situated, were chosen in cooperation with the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences as places where impacts of climate change are becoming particularly apparent in recent years. Our attention focuses on our 65+ years old participants’ perceptions, attitudes, feelings, experiences, and coping strategies related to climate change. The techniques of go-along ethnography and photovoice help to elicit their place-related memories and personal biographical contexts. How do our participants understand their life-long environmental experiences in the context of accelerating climate change? Do they feel – either personal or generational – guilt or responsibility for future generations? |
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