NOW THAT climate change is back on the agenda, politicians scramble to play their green, ethically clean card. For my generation of twentysomethings it is easy to be cynical of this skin-deep environmentalism but we should be cautious about pointing fingers.

According to Green Futures magazine, the 18 to 24-year-old age group is the least likely to be concerned about the environment; a recent MORI survey found only 21 per cent of men of this age saw global warming as a serious threat. Rather than an idealistic and globally aware generation steering the world towards a safer, greener future, I fear we are as image-driven and transparent as our political leaders.

Having dipped a toe in political or social activism at university — learnt how to walk the walk, talk the talk and not a lot more — we jump ship once we are secure in our identities, lured by brighter lights. We turn to an unseemly struggle to bag an enviable job and loosen the remaining ties with our families. Far more career-orientated and status-obsessed than our predecessors, we are also less prone to altruism.

Most disturbing of all, rampant consumerism sets in, catching even the most unlikely at their weakest: time-poor with newly earned wages. We dedicate ourselves to the mediocre pleasures of working, playing and spending.

Our only commitment towards a greener planet is motivated either by self-interest or vanity; Oxfam fashion, after all, is so very glamorous and fair-trade chocolate reflects the right kind of lifestyle — not to mention the health benefits. We buy organic, even though our parents have yet to be convinced, and we sport political messages on our T-shirts — not because we’re activists but because we like the idea of being subversive — but we do very little. Activism as a lifestyle choice is no longer hip, particularly when it is drawn closer to the pledges of politicians such as Michael Howard.

If it’s one thing to brandish consumer power (it fits in nicely with the Saturday shopping spree), it’s another to hang out behind Tescos matching kitchen waste to coloured bins. As for concessions towards running a greener home, a friend responds by asking: “What else is there after recycling?” If we are going to inherit the world, in whatever sorry state it is passed on, we should take our iPods out of our ears for a second and put environmental change on our agenda too.

Anna Shepard is a Times writer and is a part-time eco-warrior