Mature and older Danes have also started to change their lifestyle and activism for the climate.
Although the climate debate causes waves to run high in several Danish families, the mature and older part of the Danes have also begun to take the climate fight to heart.
This is what an expert and a number of organizations and associations that DR has spoken to say.
Some of them are called “climate advocates” and define themselves as activists. And some of them are gathered in the association Besteforældrenes Klimakktion, which has eight local branches around the country with a total of around 700 members.
Among other things, they take to the streets with signs and sing slogans in the fight for the climate.
This is what Alex Larsen, the association’s contact person, tells us.
– Our age group is also aware of the climate crisis and is aware of it. And we also have a need to show that in our generation too we want to be active and do something, he says.
Will secure the future of children and grandchildren
However, the majority of the mature and gray gold is not armed with signs and slogans. Instead, they change their lifestyle and, for example, eat less meat, according to an expert and several organisations.
In Ældre Sagen, they experience that the older generation has joined the climate wave. That is why they now have articles in their membership magazine about how their members can have a climate-friendly lifestyle. Several of the local branches have also started to have repair cafes, where they can come and get help repairing everything from electronics to clothes.
And there wasn’t nearly as much of that five years ago, says deputy director Michael Teit.
– What will the world be like for our children and grandchildren? It is something that is of great concern to our members. So climate and the environment are of course something that also concerns the elderly, he says.
This is recognized by Lars Kjerulf Petersen, who is a senior researcher in environmental sociology at Aarhus University.
In his latest questionnaire survey, the mature and older actually win over the younger on some points when it comes to climate awareness, he says.
– When you ask about eating habits, you will find a little more among the young people who decide to be vegetarians or vegans. But if we ask in other areas, such as waste sorting, then it is the older people.
And that makes a difference, he reckons.
– A large part of the climate footprint we have in the rich, northwestern European countries is about our consumption. So everything plays a role. Also because consumption is contagious, says Lars Kjerulf Petersen.
