Younger generations say Boomers burned the planet, leaving them to face the climate chaos that follows.
The generational climate blame game is getting ugly, and younger Americans aren’t holding back anymore. More than one-third (37%) of Gen Zers say that addressing climate change is their top personal concern, the highest percentage of any generation, while they watch older generations seemingly shrug off the environmental crisis.
The numbers tell a stark story of generational divide: baby boomers had the science, the political power, and the economic resources to prevent climate catastrophe but chose short-term profits over long-term survival. Now young people are inheriting record-breaking heat waves, rising seas, and extreme weather while also getting stuck with the bill for cleaning up a mess they didn’t make.
1. Boomers now produce nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions
Baby boomers account for nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions, with the share contributed by people over 60 rising from around a quarter to nearly a third between 2005 and 2015. As boomers age into their peak spending years, they’re consuming more energy-intensive goods and services than ever before. Their larger homes, frequent travel, and resource-heavy lifestyles are creating massive carbon footprints just as the climate crisis reaches a tipping point.
U.S. and Australian seniors top the list, producing 21 tons of emissions in 2015 – nearly double the average of seniors in Europe. This isn’t just about population size; it’s about lifestyle choices that prioritize comfort and convenience over environmental impact. While young people are changing their habits and making sacrifices for the planet, many boomers continue living like climate change isn’t their problem to solve.
2. They had decades to act but chose economic growth over environmental protection
Baby boomers were the first generation to have clear scientific evidence about climate change and the political power to do something about it. Environmental scientists were raising alarms about global warming throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but boomer-led governments and corporations chose short-term profits over long-term sustainability. They literally had the roadmap to prevent this crisis and ignored it.
66% of Gen Z and 57% of Millennials agree environmental concerns should take priority over the economy, compared with 44% of Baby Boomers. This fundamental difference in priorities explains why meaningful climate action was delayed for decades. Boomers consistently chose economic expansion over environmental protection, leaving younger generations to deal with the catastrophic consequences of those decisions.
3. They built the entire fossil fuel-dependent infrastructure we’re stuck with
The suburban sprawl, highway systems, and car-dependent infrastructure that defines modern America was designed and built by boomers during their prime working years. They created an entire civilization based on cheap oil and gas while ignoring warnings about the environmental consequences. Every freeway, strip mall, and subdivision was a choice that locked future generations into high-carbon lifestyles.
Young people today are forced to navigate cities and towns designed for maximum fossil fuel consumption. Public transportation is inadequate because boomers prioritized car infrastructure. Housing is spread out in energy-inefficient patterns because boomers preferred suburban development. The built environment itself reflects decades of choices that prioritized convenience over sustainability.
4. They dismantled environmental protections when it was convenient
Throughout the 1980s and beyond, boomer-dominated political leadership rolled back environmental regulations and gutted agencies tasked with protecting natural resources. They treated environmental protection as optional red tape rather than essential policy. Every regulation they weakened or eliminated made the current climate crisis worse and harder to address.
From Reagan’s assault on renewable energy programs to decades of resistance to fuel efficiency standards, boomers consistently chose corporate profits over environmental protection. They had multiple opportunities to strengthen climate policies and instead chose deregulation. Young people inherited a policy landscape stripped of the tools needed for rapid climate action.
5. They turned climate science into a partisan political issue
Climate change became a polarized political football largely during the peak years of boomer political leadership. Instead of treating scientific consensus as the foundation for policy, boomer politicians turned environmental protection into a partisan wedge issue. This politicization has made rational climate policy nearly impossible and wasted decades that could have been spent on solutions.
The transformation of climate science from a bipartisan concern into a culture war battleground happened on boomers’ watch. Their political leaders chose to amplify doubt and controversy rather than building consensus around solutions. Young people now have to overcome not just technical challenges but also political divisions that boomers created and weaponized.
6. They prioritized cheap consumer goods over sustainable production
Boomers drove the massive expansion of global manufacturing and consumption that created today’s climate crisis. They demanded cheap products without considering the environmental costs of production and shipping. The throwaway consumer culture and fast fashion industry exploded to meet boomer demand for inexpensive, disposable goods.
Every purchase decision boomers made over decades collectively shaped global supply chains toward maximum consumption and minimum sustainability. They chose convenience and low prices over environmental responsibility, creating market incentives that locked in high-carbon production methods. Young consumers today struggle to find sustainable alternatives because the entire economy was shaped by boomer consumption patterns.
7. They ignored renewable energy while doubling down on fossil fuels
Solar and wind technologies were available and viable during boomers’ peak earning and political influence years, but they chose to invest in fossil fuel expansion instead. The renewable energy revolution that’s happening now could have started in the 1980s if boomers had prioritized clean energy development over oil and gas exploration.
Carter’s renewable energy initiatives were dismantled by subsequent boomer leadership who preferred the status quo. Decades of underinvestment in clean energy technology was a choice that delayed the transition to sustainable power. Young people are now racing to build renewable infrastructure that should have been started 40 years ago.
8. They created the retirement crisis that’s blocking climate spending
45% of Americans over 50 say their generation made climate change worse, but many still resist climate policies that might affect their retirement security or property values. Boomers’ inadequate retirement savings create political pressure to prioritize short-term economic concerns over long-term climate investments. Their financial insecurity becomes an obstacle to necessary climate action.
The Social Security and Medicare obligations created by boomer demographics consume increasing portions of government budgets that could otherwise fund climate programs. Every dollar spent on boomer retirement benefits is a dollar not available for renewable energy infrastructure or climate adaptation. Their retirement needs are crowding out investments in young people’s future.
9. They taught younger generations wasteful habits while knowing the consequences
Boomers raised children in a culture of environmental waste while scientific evidence about climate change was already available. They taught Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z to expect cheap energy, disposable products, and resource-intensive lifestyles. This intergenerational transmission of unsustainable habits made the climate crisis worse and harder to solve.
The disconnect between boomer parenting and environmental reality created confusion and guilt for younger generations who grew up being told to recycle while watching their parents drive SUVs and overconsume. Young people had to unlearn wasteful habits that boomers normalized while dealing with climate consequences that boomers created.
10. They’re still resisting the changes needed to fix the crisis they created
Roughly two-thirds of Gen Z adults (66%) and Millennials (64%) oppose increasing offshore oil and gas drilling, compared with 46% of Baby Boomer and older adults. Even now, with overwhelming scientific evidence and visible climate impacts, many boomers continue opposing the policies needed to address the crisis they created. Their resistance to change prolongs the transition to clean energy.
From opposing wind farms to resisting carbon pricing, boomers frequently use their political influence to block climate solutions that might affect their comfort or property values. Gen Z and Millennial Democrats express more openness to breaking with fossil fuels entirely than Gen X and Baby Boomer Democrats. The generation that created the problem remains the biggest obstacle to solving it.