Tens of thousands of school-aged children, teenagers and young adults have been vocal in their fight for climate action in recent years. But what about older demographics?

Older Kiwis’ voices may be drowned out sometimes, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care or their contributions aren’t warranted.

“I don't see any distinction between younger or older people advocating for causes close to their heart as we do live in a democracy with progressive values,” said 60-year-old Graham Parton from Nelson.

A survey of over 50s conducted by New Zealand Seniors highlighted the importance of climate action and, even more so, the need for this demographic to have their voices heard on the topic. Analyst Dr Bryce Edwards believes we would be unwise to ignore these calls.

“It’s vitally important that everyone, including all generations, have an input into huge challenges such as climate change. Leaving out one particular generation will weaken society’s response to problems,” he said.

”It would be a problem if the over-50s didn’t have concerns about these issues and [didn’t] want to be involved in trying to fix problems.”

The Third Act study found 97 per cent of New Zealanders over the age of 50 believe they should have an equal say on issues that will affect younger generations to come. This includes environmental pollution (85 per cent), water management (81 per cent) and climate change (69 per cent).

But what do they want to say? What are the main issues they care about?

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According to climate scientist professor James Renwick from Victoria University of Wellington, whānau’s future is a concern for many.

“Most of the older Kiwis I know – and that includes me – are most concerned about their children and their grand children. Are my kids going to have good jobs in the future? What’s food security going to be like? [What about] international migration and travel?”

“We don’t live sustainably at all, we’re really stealing the future from our children, literally. We’re really starting to see that now.”

Kāpiti Coast resident Annette Parry, 56, agreed. “I think that's how every human feels. [When you] have children, you always look at their lives and their lives to be ... you want the world to be better for that child.”

Sixty-three-year-old Renwick couldn't pinpoint just one climate change issue his generation should be heard on, but the likes of sea level rise, coastal inundation, and flooding are great places to start.

For Renwick, his main concerns centred around the country’s liveability. Rising seas won’t just be an issue for coastal dwellers, the large populations living in flood plains near rivers will also be affected.

He wants to see increased focus – and action – on moving people into liveable areas. “Some parts of the country will become less liveable over time. In fact, some parts of the country will just disappear with sea level rise.”

Society seems to have perpetuated the argument that older generations created the climate change mess in the first place and many don’t care to solve it. Last year, youth were encouraged to “elbow your elders” to get them to pay attention. This helped perpetuate the old versus young narrative, and the term “Ok boomer” gained even more popularity. But this report debunks this age-related feud.

Having reviewed the study, Edwards believes it shows older generations are interested in helping solve a variety of issues, including climate change.

“[Ok Boomer is] a disparaging defence mechanism against the views of older generations. But, such an approach to politics is turning out to be a dead end. It’s not a progressive way to have political discussion and debate,” Edwards said.

This “heightened generational warfare”, as Edwards put it, isn’t just an issue for the topic of climate change. It’s also present in discussions about issues such as youth mental health, another aspect the survey touched on. The study found that 76 per cent of respondents would like to have a say on mental health issues within younger demographics as well.

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Ignoring older generations on important issues like climate change and the fate of the environment puzzled Parton. “Why would you disenfranchise an experienced and knowledgeable section of the community from important socio-political topics? We still have skin in the game either personally or through progeny or through a general sense of humanity.”

From what Parton has seen and heard among people his age, many are willing to discuss these topics quite openly, some with more passion and insight than young activists taking centre stage.

Three in five retired seniors who participated in the survey believed the misconception is a result of ageism perpetuated by society at large. “[It] is at least a ‘considerable’ problem for retired seniors,” Edwards said. “I think we need to listen to that.”

In the past, younger generations have felt unheard on the topic of climate action, which is why activist Greta Thunberg emerged as a voice of reason and bodies like School Strike 4 Climate formed. It might be time for the same to happen among the older generation.

“We should be sensitive to younger generations not being listened to enough or involved in some debates, but it would be wrong to blame seniors for taking an active role in any particular issues,” Edwards said.

Renwick believed older voices joining the mix might add weight to the conversations that matter.

“Older people speaking up would be really powerful, because it could be easy for policymakers to maybe not dismiss younger people’s views,” he said referencing the argument against lowering the legal voting age.

”I think it would really be quite powerful if older people spoke up in the same way that young people are.”

Parton, a pharmacist, doesn’t have grandchildren, but believes, despite the negative outlook for the future, the state of the world being left to up-and-coming generations is in better health than the world his generation inherited.

“The world is getting better – especially for humanity and, as we understand more and more, for the environment and wildlife around us. The second best time to be alive is now, the better time will be tomorrow.”

Renwick was pleased to hear more of his peers want to have their voices head on the topic of climate change, and hoped it would normalise the conversation within the wider community.

“As time goes on, [climate change] is going to be more confronting for more people. We probably will see more noise made about the problem, and more calls for action, and hopefully more action.”