This is one of the reasons it's such a big problem that the US government is a gerontocracy. Old people don't care about climate change because it won't affect them.
Conservatives in government don't believe in climate change and liberals in government say they believe in it right up until they actually have to do anything. The common pattern is that they're all in their 60s, 70s, and 80s and will be dead before the most dire consequences arrive.
If they don't care what will happen after they die and they're already successful people... why would they be working at all? Surely they'll be at home burning through all their money and not worrying about anything?
That's an excellent question and I think it's some combination of hunger for power (eternally unquenchable) and using staffers/aides as elder care workers, like Robert Byrd did.
Most old people, yes. Most young people don't care about climate change (regardless of what they say) because doing something about it will affect them.
