Climate change will be the world’s biggest challenge over the next decade, according to a global survey of young people carried out by Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.
Unveiled at COP22 in Morocco, the ‘Masdar Gen Z Global Sustainability Survey’ is the first global survey of the attitudes of young people aged 18-25 towards climate change, sustainable development and renewable energy.
Carried out earlier this year to coincide with Masdar’s 10-year anniversary, the survey spoke to nearly 5,000 Post-Millennials in 20 countries across the Middle East & North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia.
The survey clearly illustrates the level of concern among young people about climate change, with 40% of those interviewed naming it among the biggest challenges facing the world in the next decade, ahead of the economy (34%), terrorism (32%), poverty & inequality (29%) and unemployment (29%).
Eight in ten (83%) Post-Millennials also said governments need to listen more to young people about sustainability. A similar number (80%) believe current leaders have not done enough to protect the environment.
They think government and the private sector share responsibility for developing clean technology (81%), but they expect more government investment in renewable energy (84%).
Almost two in three (59%) said they are interested in working or studying in an area related to sustainability.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “There is huge demand among our youth for corporate and public investment in clean technology and renewable energy. The winners in the green economy will be those who can harness this youthful idealism and combine it with regulations, long-term investment, cultural change and political action.”
The survey found that around half of Generation Z (46%) have chosen to spend more money on products from a company that behaves sustainably, and 31% have boycotted a company that they perceived as following unsustainable practices.
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said: “Over the last 10 years, the clean energy industry has become one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic growth markets. As we look ahead, the findings of our global survey provide an important insight into the action required to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and clean technologies.”
