The climate is changing, and people are realizing that some of this change is human

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1 By Sturle J. Monstad 29 Grandparents: Advocating for a Livable Planet for Today s and Tomorrow s Grandchildren The climate is changing, and people are realizing that some of this change is human made. Individuals and groups are standing up for more political initiative and action. Older adults are advocating, not on their own behalf, but for the generation who will inherit the Earth. Their principal motivation for involvement is the future health and well-being of their grandchildren. Climate change and human made heating of the Earth have been thoroughly researched in the last decades. Carbon monoxide and other heat trapping greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are warming the Earth. Global climate change poses risks and will affect human societies and natural systems in various ways. Some consequences are predictable, like increased flooding and storms; other effects and scenarios may surprise future generations (National Research Council, 2010; WHO, 2005). Attitudes If figures from the United Kingdom are representative, it may seem that in general, older adults are not terribly concerned by the climate change and its effects (Spence, Venables, Pidgeon, Poortinga, & Demski, 2010). Forty-four percent of those over 55 do not feel they will be affected by climate change, while only 24% of the younger generations feel the same way. Thirty-two percent over 55 disagree or strongly disagree that they personally can reduce climate change by altering their behavior. Among the younger age groups, only 10% feel the same. They also found that many older adults did not know very much about how to take action in their own lives. A majority believed that government and the commercial sector should take stronger leadership to combat climate change effects (Spence et al., 2010). Carbon Footprint Older adults in the United Kingdom have a high carbon footprint compared to younger generations. The carbon footprint figures are based on expenditures and associated carbon emissions for the various age groups. Especially the high number of baby boomers, now in the 50 to 64 year age range, will change their consumption habits, replacing

2 lower carbon footprint generations as they age. This group is often in a prime economic position, and their carbon emissions come from a high car dependency, holiday travel, and eating out. In the older generations, emissions come mainly from carbon intensive home heating. Together with demographic population change in the western world, older adults will also comprise a larger population segment that contributes more to climate change than younger cohorts (Haq, Minx, Whitelegg, & Owen, 2007). However, more and more individuals and groups are taking action to reduce climate change. The involvement of older adults in creating awareness is important, as the group is both a contributor to and potential casualty of climate change. Furthermore, they are campaigners who can have a significant voice on the issue (Haq, Brown, & Hards, 2010). Advocacy and Health The prime goal for taking care of the environment and limiting global warming is to better the health and quality of life for the inhabitants of the Earth and the generation to come. The Lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission has called climate change the biggest global health threat of the 21 st century and lists challenges that the world is facing (Costello et al., 2009). Increased flooding, heat waves, agricultural problems, and more vector borne diseases are some of the issues that will affect health. A new movement focusing on advocacy and public health is needed to put climate change high on health and political agendas, the commission argues. According to the Ottawa Charter, health promotion is often described as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health (WHO, 1986). Together with peace, education, food and shelter, the need for a stable eco-system is seen as fundamental for health. Health promotion involves advocacy for health, enabling people to pursue better health and mediating between different social sectors for the improvement of health. There are five action means for health promotion: build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community actions, develop personal skills, and reorient health services (WHO, 1986). While there are many interests in society and health promoting short term and long term policies and practices, they frequently appear less important than other priorities. Shorter term economic issues are often given priority in the political sphere. A central concept in health promotion is empowerment. According to Stang (1998), empowerment is based on autonomous participation, democracy, raising critical consciousness, cooperation, and mutual respect. The opposite of being empowered is being in a state of powerlessness; the reasons for powerlessness may be that the individual feels alienated and not in control (Stang, 1998). Therefore, increasing the feeling of being in control and having power to influence one s life becomes paramount for an individual to become empowered. Older adults who believe they can do something when it comes to climate change, should feel more empowered than those who have knowledge, but have not taken action. The WHO life course approach to active ageing recognizes that older adults are part of a diverse and heterogenic population. Such individual diversity in needs, resources and capacities becomes more and more apparent with increased age. Active ageing is a term defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age (WHO, 2002). Older adults often have better health and resources to influence their own ageing trajectory than what is the case for earlier generations. Empowered older adults can take action, not just for their own well being and quality of life, but also for generations to come. Grandparents Climate Campaign In Norway, a movement named the Grandparents Climate Campaign 1 emerged in 2006, initiated by Halfdan Wiik, a university college librarian. Newly turned grandfathers were an accelerator for action, and a grass roots movement evolved. The group is organized in collaboration with the established environmental organization, Future in Our Hands 2. Over 4,000 grandparents from the whole country have joined, and the number is increasing. Those who join the campaign acknowledge the major development the world has gone through in their lifetime. After the world wars, the speed and magnitude of development have changed and improved life for large numbers of people. The price for this growth in wealth and consumerism is, however, likely to be paid for by grandchildren in coming years. 30

3 The empowered grandparents believe they can have their say when it comes to future political directions. The report, Our Common Future, by the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) reflected the Norwegian leader Gro H. Brundtland s convictions. It is an important document that introduced the term, sustainable development. While many people found hope in the concept defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, others have been disappointed that enlightened policies have not followed. The Ten Commandments for Politicians were formed and published in a major newspaper, calling for increased political prioritizing and willpower to address the climate issue (Wiik & Vetlesen, 2007) (See Box 1). Real change is needed today to secure a livable future for grandchildren and future generations. The campaign calls for politicians to be climate warriors and chieftains and lead the way for policies that support sustainability and alternative forms of energy. The Commandments are critical of increased consumerism in the western world and express the belief that government must utilize more restriction to harness the business sector. Their radical message is critical of politicians in general, not just of existing governments. The initiative has been widely supported by professors, bishops, newspaper editors, and top politicians, among others. To some surprise, even members of the Conservative party, among them previous Prime Minister Kåre Willoch, are a part of the movement. Before the 2009 election, signatures of 50 of the more famous grandparents appeared in sturle j. monstad More and more grandparents realize that one of the most important things they can do is to give their grandchildren a better world to inherit. Conscious grandparents do not want their grandchildren in coming years to say, My grandparents knew what was going to happen, but did not do enough to stop it. 31

4 newspaper ads calling for more green politics in the oil rich country. As a large exporter of oil and gas, Norway is dependent on fossil fuels, but the grandparents are calling for alternatives and stricter regulations for the industry, both nationally and internationally. In Norway, they are working against drilling for oil off the coast of the Lofoten Islands, where a dreaded scenario would be an oil spill in the often harsh climate that potentially could damage important breeding grounds for fish. In addition, the scenic natural beauty of the islands is at risk together with the negative consequences for the climate as fossil fuels are consumed. Internationally, oil companies are moving operations from dry wells to new oil fields. Much of the new fossil fuels areas that have not yet been used are in developing countries, in harsh climates and in areas where major ecological damage is expected with the extraction of oil and gas. As the Norwegian state owns a large majority of the stocks in the country s largest oil company, Statoil, the Grandparents Climate Campaign has also worked on how the business should operate in other regions of the world. Statoil is involved in oil sand projects in Canada that are controversial because of the effect on the local environment and increased use of fossil fuels. The Norwegian government has, however, been reluctant to use their shareholder power to control the company in this matter. Scientist Turns Activist Oil sand is one of the priority issues of the Grandparents Climate Campaign which has support from one of the world s leading climate change scientists, Dr. James E. Hansen. Dr. Hansen teamed up with the Campaign and received Norway s acclaimed environmental recognition, the Sophie Prize 3 from the Norwegian Gaarder Foundation. Dr. Hansen, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at Columbia s Earth Institute, is also the director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies 4. In 1988, he testified before a U.S. Senate committee on how the Earth was being affected by human made greenhouse gases and has since been engaged as an expert on the topic. Although he is primarily a scientist, Dr. Hansen has become involved in the public debate. In his recent BOX 1. Ten Commandments for Politicians 1. You shall respect international agreements. Norway has no chance to meet its Kyoto commitments, except for buying emissions quotas abroad. Any such trading should be supplemental to domestic action, not a substitute. 2. You shall not engage in the game of symbolic politics. Political measures must correspond to the seriousness of the threat we face. The massive gap between required and factual actions taken must be sealed. 3. You shall consider the totality of your own policy. The traditional goal of an ever-increasing consumption, maximizing returns and accelerating transportation undermines itself. With a climate out of control, there will be no business in the future. 4. You shall admit historical mistakes. Scientists and environmentalists have warned against manmade global warming since the 1970s, without being heard. A willingness to accept criticism would today be a promising political gesture. 5. You shall not oversell your good intentions. It s the results that count. The Norwegian carbon capture project has a very uncertain future. The only certain thing about it, is that it will contribute to rising national emissions. 6. You shall take control and intervene when necessary. That s what we have politicians and government for. We ve had enough of cowardice and wishful thinking. 7. You shall listen to your unborn grandchild. Not to the prophets of short-term profits and cost-benefit. Climate change lags behind its forcings; you will be gone when problems become insolvable. 8. You shall use words that are honest, plain and simple. The gap between glossy rhetoric and insufficient action has become unbearable. 9. You shall be a climate warrior and a chieftain. Continued indecisiveness can only be explained by character flaw, ideological paralysis and lack of leadership skills. 10. You shall stand up for basic moral values. The gospel of individualism is false; the community s needs must take precedence over private interests. We must come together and fight against consumerism and self-worship, for intergenerational justice and the wisdom of collective action. SOURCE: Published in the major newspaper, Aftenposten (Wiik and Vetlesen, 2006). Revision and translation, book, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, Hansen (2009) uses his knowledge to create a strong rationale for reducing greenhouse gases and creating climate-friendly policies. The consequences 32

5 sturle j. monstad Advocacy, not on their own behalf, but for generations who will live on the Earth in the years to come, is meaningful for many grandparents. of climate change led Hansen to coin the term, intergenerational inequity, to emphasize the fact that coming generations must pay for the actions of previous generations. According to Hansen, many politicians are guilty of greenwashing : expressing concern about global warming and the environment while taking no actions to actually stabilize climate or preserve the environment (Hansen, 2009, Preface IX). Other Groups A number of organizations are pointing at the intergenerational perspective as their motivation for working to reduce climate change. In the United States, the activism group Gray Panthers 5, traditionally working for increased dignity and rights for older adults, has gone through a greening (Wile, 2010). In the organization s 40 th anniversary year, climate change issues have been put higher on the agenda. In the UK, several projects have engaged seniors, according to the report, Older People and Climate Change: The Case for Better Engagement (Haq, Brown, & Hards, 2010): RSVP West The Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme in the West of England 6 and the Evergreen project, run by the charity Global Action Plan 7, work to create awareness and action among seniors and include an intergenerational component in the projects. Also Kingston University used a similar focus in their Sustainable Living and the Older Community project 8. Advocating for Future Generations In Norway and elsewhere, grandparents are lifting their voices to express their passion to limit climate change and advocate for more climate-friendly policies. They do not want their grandchildren to say, My grandparents knew what was to happen, but did not do enough to stop it. Sturle J. Monstad Independent Consultant sturle@monstad.no 33

6 notes 1 Grandparents Climate Campaign: 2 Future in Our Hands: 3 The Sophie Prize: 4 Dr. James Hansen websites: and 5 Gray Panthers: 6 The Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme in the West of England: climatechange 7 Evergreen Project by Global Action Plan: 8 Sustainable Living & the Older Community: co.uk references Costello, A., Abbas, M., Allen, A., Ball, S., Bell, S., Bellamy, R., Friel, S., Groce, N., Johnson, A., Kett, M., Lee, M., Levy, C., Maslin, M., McCoy, D., McGuire, B., Montgomery, H., Napier, D., Pagel, C., Patel, J., Antonio Puppim de Oliveira, J., Redclift, N., Rees, H., Rogger, D., Scott, J., Stephenson, J., Twigg, J., Wolff, J., Patterson, C. (2009). Managing the health effects of climate change. The Lancet, 373(9676), Hansen, J. (2009). Storms of my grandchildren: The truth about the coming climate catastrophe and our last chance to save humanity. New York: Bloomsbury USA. Haq, G., Brown, D., & Hards, S. (2010). Older people and climate change: The case for better engagement. Stockholm Environment Institute, Project Report Stockholm: SEI. Accessed October 15, 2010: Haq, G., Minx, J., Whitelegg, J., & Owen, A. (2007). Greening the greys: Climate change and the over 50s. Accessed October 14, 2010: National Research Council. (2010). Advancing the science of climate change. (Prepublication copy). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Accessed October 15, 2010: Spence, A., Venables, D., Pidgeon, N., Poortinga, W., & Demski, C. (2010). Public perceptions of climate change and energy futures in Britain: Summary findings of a survey conducted in January-March Technical Report. (Understanding Risk Working Paper 10-01). Cardiff: School of Psychology. Accessed October 16, 2010: UnderstandingRiskFinalReport.pdf Stang, I. (1998). Makt og bemyndelse: om å ta pasient- og brukermedvirkning på alvor. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Wile, J. (2010). The greening of the Gray Panthers. Accessed October 12, 2010: World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. Published as an Annex to United Nations General Assembly document A/42/427, Development and International Co-operation: Environment, August 2, Accessed October 16, 2010: wced-ocf.htm World Health Organization (WHO). (1986). Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Geneva: WHO. World Health Organization (WHO). (2002). Active ageing: A policy framework. Geneva: WHO. World Health Organization (WHO). (2005). Health and climate change: The now and how. A policy action guide. Geneva: WHO. Wiik, H., & Vetlesen, A. J. (2007, Jan 17). 10 klimabud for politikere. Oslo: Aftenposten. 34