Young people of different political ideologies can see eye to eye
Article by Iris Zhan
Many recent studies show that millennials and Gen Z are united across party lines on the issue of climate change. Among Americans ages 18–34, 70 percent are worried about the climate crisis. For the first time in 2020, millennials and Gen Z are projected to make up the largest block of registered voters. In an April 2019 survey from Yale Climate Communications, younger generations ranked climate change higher in voting priority compared to older generations, and it’s possible that this could bridge the political divide in this country.
I interviewed Isaiah Tobias Lee, a member of Sunrise Movement Providence hub. When asked about what needs to change about current politics, Lee said, “We need a Green New Deal, we need to dismantle capitalism, and we need to move quickly to rely on renewable energy.”
He wanted to clarify that, in his eyes, being anti-capitalist does not equal socialism. To him, dismantling capitalism means that companies are focused on the common good, rather than profit, to make sure that no one is profiting off cheap labor and abuse. These stricter conditions mean cheap materials, which harm the environment, will be harder to produce. I asked about carbon fee and dividend (CFD) because of its bipartisan appeal, and Isaiah replied, “CFD is in the right direction, and it’s necessary to tax carbon, but it’s just part of what we need to do.”
“Large corporations love to outsource their work to countries with a history of being colonized and having their resources taken away,” Lee said.
Living in Providence, Rhode Island, Lee sees environmental racism firsthand, pointing out that a large part of pollution happens where politicians and CEOs care less about the people who live there, and inevitably, black and indigenous people experience health risks, gentrification and underpaid labor due to climate change. Major fossil fuel corporations, which are always looking to minimize costs at the disregard of environmental justice and concerns, tend to locate their industrial plants in minority and lower-income neighborhoods.
Even though Democrats are more likely to acknowledge the severity of the climate crisis than Republicans, the partisan divide essentially vanishes among younger generations, with an overwhelming majority of Millennials and Gen Zers agree that climate change is a serious threat regardless of political party. Instead, the partisan divide is among older GOP voters who overwhelmingly do not share the severity. An original Newsy-Ipsos survey found 20 percent of millennials and Gen Zers chose climate change as one of the top issues of the 2020 campaign.
I spoke to CCL conservative fellow, Jacob Abel, a senior at Seton Hall University, and spokesperson for RepublicEn. He thinks that because of the Republican party’s history on the environment, from Roosevelt to Nixon to H.W. Bush, addressing climate change is a logical extension of conservative values.
In order to change the politics to make climate action possible, he said, “Keeping in mind that the person who may be on the other side of the aisle wants to address the same issue just in a different way is important. It does not have to be as ‘zero sum’ as it often seems.”
Abel described that his ideal policy begins with a revenue-neutral carbon tax because it’s the best way to level the playing field and spur innovation by creating an environment in which entrepreneurs can drive the economy in a direction that is both environmentally friendly but also does not upend the economy.
Abel described how Democrats, even younger voters, believe that Republicans do not want to address climate change at all and therefore spend little to no time talking with Republicans about climate issues. Yet, he said, “I think if more discussions were had then this could help build a bridge between the two sides.”
Research has shown that there is a generational divide in the Republican party on climate change. He says, however, the parties stances on addressing climate change have shifted largely due to pressure from constituents, citing Kevin McCarthy who has encouraged his members to speak more on the issue, realizing they could lose younger members by not having a strategy to address climate change.
Data from the Pew Research shows that millennial Republicans are more inclined than older Republicans to think the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect key aspects of the environment. 47 percent of millennials agree that the government is doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change, with only 27 percent of boomers agreeing.
Generational differences emerge on some energy and climate issues occur primarily among Republicans, not Democrats. Republican millennials are less inclined than their elders in the GOP to support increased use of fossil fuel energy sources and more inclined to support expansion of renewables. For example, 44 percent of millennial Republicans support the increased use of offshore drilling, compared with 75% of Republicans in the Baby Boomer and older generations. 87 percent of millennial Republicans favor expanding use of wind turbines, versus the 73 percent for boomer Republicans and older.
A 2018 Gallup analysis found a “global warming age gap” in some beliefs, attitudes, and risk perceptions. For example, 70% of adults aged 18 to 34 say they worry about global warming compared to 56% of those aged 55 or older.
Support for a federal carbon tax, further restrictions on methane emissions, and a national renewable energy standard were virtually identical among both Gen Z and millennials of both parties, with a gap of 2 percentage points or less on each response. All these statistics reveal the startling reality that both Democratic and Republican Gen Z and millennials generally support some climate action, although there are differences in the approach.
