COP26: my generation is growing up experiencing climate crisis and inaction

As part of the Intergenerational Foundation’s COP26 blog series, John Paul Jose, a young environmental activist based in India, sets out the potential costs of the climate crisis and calls on polluters and world leaders to step up and show leadership to secure a healthy and sustainable Earth, fit for future generations. Fear for the… Read more »

Introducing our COP26 blog series: demanding change to protect the planet

COP26, the United Nations (UN) Climate Talks have begun. Liz Emerson, IF Co-founder, introduces the Intergenerational Foundation’s blog series surrounding the event and questions whether COP26 can deliver real progress on protecting younger and future generations from the worst effects of man-made climate change. What is COP26? COP26 is an annual UN climate change conference… Read more »

No news is bad news: the government’s lack of ambition and missed opportunities on Net Zero

The UK Government has announced their plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to reach a target of net zero. The most notable initiatives include investments in electrical cars and sustainable aviation, as well as expansion of nuclear programmes. IF Student Intern, Hanna Burt, analyses the plan from an intergenerational fairness perspective. Too little, too late… Read more »

A safe climate is a Human Right – what now?

The United Nations (UN) has declared that access to a sustainable environment is a human right. But as established by IF supporter Alice Bordini-Staden, politicians must take action to ensure that future generations may enjoy this right. IF student intern, Hanna Burt, writes about the suggestions made by Alice and others to combat the intergenerational… Read more »

Extreme weather events: an intergenerational issue

The safety of future generations is under threat. Research at Imperial College London shows that generations born today will be far more affected by extreme weather than their predecessors. IF student intern Hanna Gunnerhed Burt writes about how these conditions will unfairly affect future generations An uninhabitable future A recent study published by Science shows… Read more »

“There are simply too few of us:” the German federal election and intergenerational politics

Older generations make up an overwhelming majority of eligible voters in the upcoming German federal election. Many young people feel that their interests are being ignored in the three leading parties’ campaigns. IF intern Carlotta Hartmann examines younger generations’ democratic deficit, and what it might mean for policy in the future. Population-ageing leaves young voters… Read more »

Young people, climate change and political power: comparing Germany and the UK

With the upcoming election marking a potential turning point in Germany’s future environmental policy, the country’s demographics give older generations more political power, says Deutsche Welle. If older generations are less concerned about climate change and less supportive of policies to change it, this is disillusioning for those hoping for more ambitious government action against… Read more »

“Listen to the science”: strong and rapid action needed in response to IPCC report 

On Monday, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a landmark report providing a highly comprehensive review of climate change science. While the report has been described as “code red for humanity”, Melissa Bui asks if world leaders will treat the climate crisis with the same urgency that they treated the pandemic crisis? The… Read more »

Worldwide Blog Week 2021: summing up

Following a week of contributions from guest writers from across the globe, Liam Hill, the Intergenerational Foundation’s Digital Campaigns Officer, sums up the main themes from the different contributions to IF’s Worldwide Blog Week The idea that each generation should pass on a better world to the next is a simple but powerful one. The… Read more »

The climate crisis requires solidarity between generations

Throughout the pandemic crisis, younger generations have taken a large hit to their quality of life in order to protect older generations who are most at risk of dying from COVID–19. IF senior researcher, Melissa Bui, explains how older generations can repay young people for their demonstration of intergenerational solidarity by taking essential and urgent… Read more »