Prof. Aseem Prakash and colleague Prof. Nives Dolšak in Forbes wonder if younger people are embracing or ignoring carbon footprint, using Taylor Swift and her recent tour as an example.
Climate change has emerged as an important issue for the younger generation; that is, Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996). Public opinion polls suggest that these cohorts are more worried about climate change and more supportive of climate policies...
But who is to be blamed for the climate crisis?...
The criticism that the older generation allowed fossil fuels to dominate the economy is fair. Indeed, Inter-generation inequity is now an important part of climate policy discourse. Yet, it is not clear if the younger generation is any different especially when it comes to carbon-frugal lifestyles. The massive youth response to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is noteworthy on this count.Her concerts are multi-day events. In addition to filling Seattle’s Lumen Field with 70K capacity on two successive evenings, Seattle saw a host of Taylor Swift parties, including tailgate parties...But much of the entertainment seems carbon-intensive and we find this “consumption as salvation” approach to be disturbing (apart from the moral issue surrounding conspicuous consumption...
This raises questions such as whether the climate ethic of the younger generation is any different from that of boomers. Instead of “ok boomers” type of performative environmentalism, it is time to ask the tough question: how to confront our carbon-intensive lifestyles.
Some might claim that climate problems are structural and suggest any talk about personal responsibility constitutes “soft denial.” We beg to differ. Individuals have a choice when it comes to entertainment.
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