Today’s teens are often dragged as slactivists living only for their next selfie or social media follower, but it turns out they may be doing a better job than adults at thinking and planning for the long term. This type of thinking is challenging at the best of times, but if we are to address climate change, adults in positions of power will need to step away from the short-term perspective and consider the next generation. Instead of borrowing now and paying later, it’s time to do the opposite: make investments up-front and reap the benefits over time.
Polls of many varieties have shown that public concern for climate change is increasing, along with the public’s desire to do something about the problem. This trend appears to be especially pronounced among young people, as Washington Post columnist Stephen Stromberg focuses on in his latest piece:
“Young Americans will face the challenge, because their parents and grandparents did not. They will do so with little time and a cash-strapped federal Treasury that the baby boomers fleeced to pay for tax cuts and retirement benefits.”
The National Climate Bank provides an example of the type of reframed thinking we need. With a proposed 30-year charter and $35 billion in starting capital, it would begin to mobilize investment into clean energy projects that would yield benefits over the long term. That includes benefits to lenders and investors, in the form of interest payments and a rate of return. It includes economic benefits to consumers, who would enjoy lower energy costs thanks to these projects. And it includes benefits to our climate, which urgently requires us to transition to clean energy.
Last week, polls showed that eight out of ten Americans believe that human activity is driving climate change, and half believe that action is urgently needed within the next decade. Two-thirds believe that the current administration is doing too little to address the problem.
Teenagers agreed with the scientific consensus at an even higher rate than adults, with 86% of teenagers agreeing that human activity is driving climate change. The most common emotion they associate with climate change is “angry,” followed by “motivated.”
And, teens are translating that motivation into action- clapping back, as they might call it. The poll found that roughly one in four teens has participated in a walkout, attended a rally, or written to a public official to share their views on climate change.
Teenagers and young people will indeed face the largest challenges of climate change, and will also have to confront the unwillingness of adults to pay for climate change solutions. The same poll of adults that found widespread understanding of the climate problem, found majorities of Americans unwilling to pay for mitigation through monthly taxes on their gas or electric bills. That’s a sign of short-term thinking, but luckily there are tools at our disposal. Teens today have reasons today to be hopeful as they greet activist Greta Thurnberg and prepare for a youth climate strike. We have a wide array of aggressive policy tools to draw on, including that of a National Climate Bank which will help to sidestep objections by keeping energy costs low. Today’s teens will inherit a warming world, but we can take action now to make sure they don’t pay an unfair price.
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