The Co-op Foundation
Understanding the younger generation’s attitudes towards Net Zero and the concept of a ‘just transition’
“My honest reaction is how can people afford this? People can’t even pay their bills at the moment let alone buy an electric car. That stuff can only be done by people with money. They can afford to buy a heat pump and they can pay extra to fly if they have to. Poorer people are either going to be left behind or accused of being not green which isn’t fair.”
The Co-op Foundation are a charity associated with the Co-op, the supermarket chain. They were concerned that actions to tackle climate change might unfairly impact young people. For example, if landlords are forced to spend money making their rental properties more energy efficient, they’re going to pass the cost on, right?
We chatted to 44 young people aged 16-24, and ran a survey with over 1,000 young people. Here is what they had to say:
91% believe young people should be involved in decisions on how we address the climate issue
3 in 4 young people see addressing climate change as an opportunity – it’s not all doom and gloom - but over half don’t know how to get involved
Young people are willing to make lifestyle changes like buying sustainable products to help tackle climate change, but not to eat less(!) or to have their freedom of choice removed
What they want is for the government to think about the longer term, by putting money into planting trees, green transport and creating green jobs – they don’t put much faith in this though
Actions to tackle climate change have the potential to impact the poorest and most vulnerable in society – leaving them even worse off. Young people said this was unacceptable
You can read the full report if you’re interested here. We also made a cool film with up-and-coming young filmmaker Manoel Akure.
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