{"id":14529,"date":"2024-09-02T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=14529"},"modified":"2025-04-23T08:57:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T08:57:56","slug":"how-to-engage-chinas-gen-z-on-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/how-to-engage-chinas-gen-z-on-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"How to engage China\u2019s Gen Z on climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research by Energy Foundation China has found that young people need to be shown how climate issues connect to their lives, Huang Wei writes for Dialogue Earth <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A new report supported by Energy Foundation China, the NGO I work for, contains some fascinating findings on the climate attitudes of China\u2019s 15 to 24 year olds, or Gen Z, as they’re more often known. It also offers helpful advice on how to communicate with them in a way that builds their support for climate action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen Z are well aware of the central government\u2019s \u201cdual-carbon targets\u201d to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reduce them to net zero by 2060. They are interested in the job opportunities that this low-carbon transition is creating. But they lack awareness of how climate issues will affect their lives in myriad other ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To nurture a Gen Z person that actively participates in climate action and influences peers to do likewise, climate communicators need to speak to their life values. Climate stories should emphasise opportunities for personal growth, avoid overly negative stories, and provide hope for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Gen Z are crucial movers in the low-carbon transition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow will China\u2019s carbon-reduction targets affect your lifestyle decisions?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll buy an electric car someday,\u201d a young person answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exchange took place in late 2023 at a Beijing conference on young people\u2019s participation in climate issues. The participants, mostly recent or soon-to-be university graduates who had braved the capital\u2019s cold winter to attend, all said China\u2019s dual-carbon targets had been a major influence on their career choices. But when I asked for other concrete changes that those targets might encourage them to make in their lives, \u201cbuying an electric car\u201d was the most common answer. This is despite the ambitious national targets that require an\u00a0overhaul\u00a0of the energy system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exchange reflects the views of some members of China\u2019s Gen Z. They approve of China having strong climate policies, but don\u2019t know enough about what the actual impacts will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen Z generally refers to people born between 1995 and 2009. In China, they make up 19% of the population, or\u00a0267 million people. The cohort grew up with the internet and is acutely aware of how technology has progressed and driven social change. The country\u2019s ongoing journey towards meeting the dual-carbon targets will encompass their \u201cblooming\u201d years. In adolescence, early adulthood and middle age, Gen Z will experience even more new technologies and products becoming mainstream, and consumption habits changing, as economic development decouples from carbon emissions. For this reason, their backing and participation are vital if global climate targets are to be achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To gain lessons for communications endeavours in this area, Tsinghua University\u2019s School of Journalism and Communications has conducted research with support from Energy Foundation (EF) China. The findings were recently published in a report, \u201cEngaging China\u2019s Generation Z: Research on life values and climate communication\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do Gen Z think about climate change and the measures being taken to tackle it? How will they cope with the changes those measures will bring? And how can climate communications resonate with their life values and concerns? We break down our findings here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n