61% Of Young People Believe They Can Influence Adults On Sustainability

• 84% of young people believe their actions matter when it comes to protecting the planet, with 70% believing they will play a central role in tackling climate change
• 45% are encouraging adults to make more sustainable choices once or more a week and 37% are calling on Government to act 
• Heating of the future: 37% of adults expect heat pumps to be commonplace in homes within the decade
• 61% believe they can influence adults to make more sustainable choices

Ahead of World Environment Day tomorrow [5th June], clean energy-tech champion, Aira, unveils new data that explores young people’s attitudes towards sustainability and a cleaner world, while raising awareness of clean heat solutions. New research, conducted amongst adults and children aged 15 and under across the UK, reveals that 84% of young people believe their actions matter when it comes to protecting the planet and 70% believe they will play a central role in tackling climate change. 

As a rally cry, 45% are encouraging adults to make more sustainable choices once or more a week and 37% are calling on Government to take action to help the planet. Within this, accessibility and affordability are the main concerns for young people, with 57% calling for sustainable products to cost less and 51% asking for sustainable home heating to be cheaper.

Young people are already taking the lead on driving climate action, with 80% of young people recycling, 53% actively turning off the lights and 42% using less water. In fact, young people are stepping up as educators in their own lives, with 61% saying they can influence adults to make more planet friendly choices.

By contrast, 33% of UK adults are feeling anxious about climate change, with one in five (20%) expressing frustration at the lack of systemic action. This reality highlights a need for more support and clarity on the journey to a cleaner future. Looking forward, more than half of adults recognise that clean energy-tech solutions, such as solar panels (51%) and heat pumps (37%) will be commonplace in homes over the decade but cite cost (45%) as the main barrier to heat pump adoption.  

Pamela Brown, Aira’s Consumer Expert, commented: “Children already believe in climate change, are eager to act, and want to influence their households to do so. While adults know about the solutions, too many still feel stuck. Despite the concern about cost, our data shows that 31% of adults would be motivated to switch to a heat pump if they delivered lower long-term energy bills, exposing how many people are not yet aware that heat pumps already do exactly this - with Aira it’s 25%. Now is the time for change, with more education, inspiration and collective action. We owe it to young people – and ourselves – to create a cleaner future.”

The findings form the basis of the Cleaner Future campaign, in which Aira has collaborated with sustainable artist, Emily Birch to visualise a cleaner future through the creative minds of young people. Emily guided children through a creative workshop to draw their own interpretations of a world without pollution, which was then used to create a hopeful image that represents a new era of eco-positivity and opportunity, driven by the generation of tomorrow. 

Gemma Bird, Aira ambassador and author, columnist and influencer ‘Money Mum’, added: “I’m so inspired by the creativity that the young people demonstrated during the workshop. They are super switched on and have ambitious ideas about creating a cleaner future. Seeing my own children participate in this campaign was an important reminder as to why talking openly about sustainability is so important. As a money expert, I’m always looking at ways to help people save money and while there is often a perception that living sustainably costs more, there are clean solutions, like heat pumps, that save people money on their bills too. Aira’s research shows that there’s work to be done to educate ourselves more and to match young people’s enthusiasm with action. It’s time to listen to the kids!” 

In a bid to empower adults to support younger people’s growing curiosity, Aira today launches its own Cleaner Future Workbook. Inspired by the workshop and research results, which reveal half (50%) of young people are already doing independent learning on climate change at least once a week, this workbook is designed to spark engaging conversations and curiosity. 

Source : Aira

Image : Aira's Cleaner Future, by Emily Birch

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