Intergenerational Justice and Solidarity on Sustainability in China: A Case Study in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta

Sustainability

Mei Zhang¹ 

[1] School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK;

关键词: intergeneration;    justice;    solidarity;    sustainability;    environment;    priority;    Nanjing;    Yangtze River Delta;    China;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su10114296

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The aim of this paper is to examine systematically the intergenerational justice and solidarity on sustainability in China, which is fundamental for achieving social/cultural change, whereas this is threatened by environmental unsustainability. A questionnaire survey with a sample size of 752 was carried out in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta, China, with different age groups, and in the meantime, a series of qualitative studies was carried out through in-depth interviews and focus groups. It is shown that: with increasing age, people are more concerned about general and large-scale sustainability issue, whereas for smaller scale and immediate sustainability issues, there is no clear tendency with increasing age; older generations are more concerned about the causes of climate changes; in terms of responsibility for environmental problems, there are statistically-significant view changes with increasing age; for priority considerations in sustainability, among age groups, at the personal level, there is generally no statistically-significant difference, whereas at the public level, there are some statistically-significant differences; for preserving the future, there is generally no statistically-significant difference among age groups. Overall, there are considerable differences in intergenerational justice on sustainability, although there are still indications of solidarity among generations.

【 授权许可】

Unknown