People 60 and older are responsible for a large and increasing share of greenhouse gas emissions in wealthy countries, according to a new study. This is due not just to the increasing numbers of people in this age group but to their lifestyles as well, hinting that aging populations may pose a challenge to climate action.

Longer lifespans and declining birth rates in wealthy countries mean their populations are getting older. The share of the population aged 65 and older in wealthy countries is projected to double between 2019 and 2050.

Past studies have shown conflicting results about the climate impact of an aging society. These studies have focused mainly on economic productivity, rather than on people’s consumption and behavior.

In the new study, researchers fed household expenditure data from 29 European countries, the United States, Australia, and Japan into a computer model to calculate the greenhouse gas footprint of household consumption by different age groups in 2005, 2010, and 2015.

People aged 60 and over represent about one-fifth of the population in the 32 countries studied. This senior group accounted for 25.2% of consumption-based emissions across all countries in 2005 and 32.7% in 2015, the researchers report in Nature Climate Change. If this trend continues, the 60+ group will soon overtake the 45-59 age group as the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

“The rising share of the footprint from age 60+ households was found in all 32 developed countries,” the researchers write.

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