This observation highlights the attitude South Africa’s Gen Zs have towards climate related issues and their knowledge and understanding of climate change.
Continue reading to find out more.
What we learnt:
The majority (64%) of our sample who answered this question indicated they were concerned about climate change.
“Because there’s just been weird things happening, like all of a sudden you hear this cyclone happening in weird areas, you know that those are things that we never imagined. As of late, we are also experiencing tremors, it’s things that we used to hear of, but it’s not things that we got to experience. So sometimes it is a scary concept of what’s going on with the climate at the moment. So yeah, it’s concerning.” – Lerato (27, Black, female)
“I think global warming’s a huge problem. I do think about it often and I’m very aware of it and studied a lot about it growing up. It’s almost like you know watching the news every single day. You try and do something and you just feel like it’s not going anywhere so you try and take your brain and just try and go through every single day. I’m definitely aware of it and even now the changes in weather are crazy.” – Alana (25, White, female)
There were some for which climate change is not top of mind:
“Honestly, I’ve been lying to you if I tell you that I’m worried about climate change, I’m so not worried about it. But yeah, it’s something that I would like to have conversations about, but it’s not really my biggest concern at this point.” – Sizwe (Black, male)
“No. I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything about climate change. I don’t know. So I really have to tell you. No, I’m not concerned. I don’t like litter. But I’m not like shouting at people who do, you know.” – Bryan (White, male)
What does the research/experts say:
A Pew Research report found that 76% of US Gen Zs consider climate change one of their biggest concerns, and 37% say it is their top concern. According to research conducted in ten countries and published in The Lancet in 2021, 59% indicated being extremely worried. 84% were moderately concerned.
Researchers say that these percentages depend on the extent to which a country is experiencing the devastation of climate change. “Global Gen Z is becoming anxious about climate change. The degree of concern is higher in places where its impacts are already being demonstrated. This results in climate anxiety that is not necessarily as pronounced in other parts of the world” says researchers from Australia’s Curtin University, which found that only 35% of Generation Z are concerned about climate change.
“Africa is responsible for less than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it is the continent which is the least able to cope with the negative impacts of climate change,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
Mental health clinicians are increasingly seeing more patients come in with symptoms of climate change anxiety—also referred to as eco-anxiety, eco-grief, or climate doom. “I’ve seen an explosion of research in the last five years for sure,” says Alison Hwong, a psychiatrist and mental health researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. One thing to point out is that worry is not the same thing as anxiety. When the worry becomes overwhelming and debilitating, it is serious.
What can businesses and policymakers do about this?
These climate-conscious young people want to work for companies with environmentally friendly practices. They also want to buy from brands that respect the environment. They are intelligent and can see through any attempts at greenwashing. They also have the power of social media, which they will not hesitate to use to garner support.
In August 2023, the Prudential Authority (PA), which is the supervisory arm of the South African Reserve Bank, issued voluntary guidance to financial institutions ahead of future mandatory climate-related requirements. “While all banks have made generalised commitments on climate, none has included financing for fossil gas, for example – and in fact almost all increased their exposure to fossil gas over the last year,” said Emma Schuster – senior climate risk analyst at Just Share, a non-profit shareholder activism organisation.
Climate-related laws are only going to become more stringent. Companies should prepare themselves accordingly, or a young employee or customer may bring reputational damage. Businesses should educate themselves to prepare for the upcoming regulatory changes. The voluntary guidance from the SARB mentioned above is one such example. Climate lawyers and advisors will become increasingly crucial to the overall business strategy. Policymakers must bring laws into existence and prioritise how to enforce them.
Policymakers should harness young people’s concerns and bring them together to shape policy. Some countries have started to appoint ‘future generations commissioners’ to safeguard the interests of the unborn. Young people would be ideal to include in such initiatives. “Youth movements have played an important role in bringing the voice of future generations into the mainstream on climate. But future thinking needs to be institutionalised, across all policy areas and all aspects of policy,” said Professor Alberto Alemanno and Elizabeth Dirth when calling for the EU to appoint a European Commissioner for Future Generations.
By Flux Trends
The data and quotes mentioned above refer to a project that we are in the midst of, in conjunction with Student Village called “The 30/30/30 Project” whereby we collected insights from 30 South Africans, under the age of 30, 30 years into our new democracy.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Book the From GenZ to Gen Alpha trend briefing, to get access to the latest insights about Gen Alpha.
Contact Bethea Clayton at connected@fluxtrends.co.za or +27764539405 to book this trend briefing for your team or clients.
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Image credit: Markus Spiske
