Abstract
The literature on climate change and equitable development has debated over adverse effects of climate change on survival and development of younger and older generations. It is evident that both younger and older generations are disproportionately impacted by climate change, for different reasons. Using the frameworks of social inequalities and the asset-based development approach, this interpretive research study inquiries into cultural and socioeconomic context of sustainable development, mainly through eight systematic reviews on climate change and generational relationships since 2020. While special attention is given to adverse effects of ageism and inequalities of biomedical and socioeconomic conditions and developmental opportunities between socio-culturally constructed different generations in climate change, this study critically interprets the consumerism and instrumentalism tenets of the generational division hypothesis which treats everyone and every generation as burden and views them in the fight for themselves to colonize non-human nature resources. To achieve shared climate sustainability and resilience, this study appraises alternatives of generational division hypothesis such as social inequalities of conditions and opportunities, generational solidarity, and asset-based approaches, with the focus on an asset-based sustainable development approach, where everyone and every generation are in this anthropogenic climate resilience for all current and future generations, and they are treated as assets and agents to sustainable development, supported by best evidence on necessary and effective outcomes of intergenerational solidarity practice for sustainable individual, cohort, community, and global development. This study illustrates the asset-based development approach of generational solidarity through two examples: Wildfires and generational knowledge share in indigenous communities.
Presenters
Lihua HuangAssociate Professor, School of Social Work, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
CLIMATE CHANGE, SOCIAL WORK, AGEISM, INEQUALITIES, ASSET-BASED APPROACH, GENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY
