10 Break-Out Sessions
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Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow 2023: Intergenerational Solidarity in Question
Our global survey of Leaders of Today and Tomorrow reveals fundamental frictions between generations on the urgency as well as the appropriate means to address the climate crisis. The actions which they do agree on are bold – and surprising.
As early as 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
For some time now, we have assumed that this basic intergenerational solidarity is a given. But this year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report – a joint publication of the St. Gallen Symposium and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions – shows that such solidarity across generations is not as certain as we may have thought.
Our study reveals fundamental frictions between the Leaders of Tomorrow and the older generation of leaders in addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainable transformation. How urgent and severe is climate change? And how radical do the solutions need to be?
The report is based on a survey of 762 Leaders of Tomorrow from the St. Gallen Symposium network and 300 Leaders of Today – senior executives who are 50 years or older from large corporations – and reveals divisions as well as common ground.
Generations Disagree on the Urgency and Root Cause of the Climate Crisis
Only 26% of the Leaders of Tomorrow believe that the two generations share the same assessment of the severity of the consequences of the climate crisis. In contrast, 77% of the Leaders of Today believe in a shared assessment. A similarly drastic contrast exists between the different generations regarding a shared sense of urgency (36% vs. 85%, respectively).
Leaders of Tomorrow Are Split on Whether Breaking Rules and Laws is Justified for Climate Action
47% of the Leaders of Tomorrow believe that it is acceptable to defy existing rules and laws to accelerate sustainable transformation, leading to a nearly 50/50 split on the question of how radical or moderate measures for sustainable solutions should be. In contrast, today’s leaders clearly agree on moderate measures. For a contextualisation, explore our recent research Briefs on civil disobedience by Prof. Martin Kolmar here and Prof. Benjamin Schindler here.
Surprisingly, Leaders of Today are Bolder in Calling for More Rules and Regulations for Sustainability
69% of the Leaders of Tomorrow and 90% of the Leaders of Today believe that rules and market regulation are more likely to drive sustainable change in the economy, as opposed to relying on the free market and voluntary changes in behavior.
Read and Download the Full Report here.
