Abstract:
Will a newborn experience more impacts from climate change compared to a 60-year old? With the emergence of a global climate youth movement, questions of intergenerational justice regarding climate change mitigation have come to the fore. However, a scientific perspective on intergenerational climate impacts is still lacking. In our latest study, we show that newborns in 2020 are projected to experience 2-7 times more extreme events globally under current climate pledges than someone born in 1960, using a novel framework that quantifies impacts as they are experienced along the course of a person's life. Limiting warming to 1.5°C consistently reduces that burden while still leaving younger generations with unavoidable impacts that are unmatched by those experienced by older generations. These results provide a scientific basis to understand the position from which younger generations challenge the present shortfall of adequate climate action.