Does the Future Have a Lobby? Environmental Degradation and Perceived Environmental Responsibility towards Future Generations

The devastating consequences of environmental degradation are increasingly evident, necessitating both adaptation and mitigation strategies. This study investigates perceived individual responsibility, drawing upon Hans Jonas’ "The Imperative of Responsibility" as a theoretical framework. Our aim is to explore the relationship between five independent variables (perceived climate change threat, trust in technological progress, religiosity, responsibility for contemporaries impacted by natural disasters, and environmental concern) and the dependent variable of perceived environmental responsibility towards future generations. Findings reveal that approximately 77 percent of respondents in Germany are willing to sacrifice current standards of living to protect the environment for future generations. Notably, perceiving climate change as a threat, assuming responsibility for present-day impacts and environmental stewardship emerge as significant predictors of environmental responsibility towards future generations. Being religious also correlates with heightened environmental responsibility compared to non-religious individuals. Trust in technological progress only weakly correlates with intergenerational environmental responsibility, surprisingly suggesting a positive relationship. These findings provide valuable insights into determinants of perceived individual responsibility. In order to arrive at a more complete analysis, however, future research needs to complement this study of perceived individual-level responsibility with considerations on collective actors and structural factors.