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LAST UPDATE | 29 Nov 2022
NEARLY FOUR IN five young people would be in favour of imposing fines on businesses that emitted more than a certain amount of greenhouse gases.
Additionally, 57% would strongly support a ban on non-essential domestic flights, though only 29% would back a limit on annual flights per person.
In addition, over half (57%) would favour the implementing car-free zones in towns and city-centres.
New research from the Economic Social and Research Institute (ESRI) studied young people’s attitudes to climate, their personal actions, and their opinions on hypothetical future climate policies.
Of a representative sample of 500 people aged between 16 and 24 years old, more than 90% viewed protecting the environment as very important and most believed they could do more in their everyday lives to help combat climate change.
Ylva Andersson, lead author of the report, said the results “show that young people in Ireland are concerned about climate change and highly motivated to act”.
But they also showed that youth “will need resources and leadership to act on these motivations, given the complexity of the issues and young people’s limited understanding of how they can best help reduce emissions”.
Young people were generally willing to make personal shifts like flying less or eating less meat while also holding the government responsible for enacting widespread changes.
However, they struggled to identify which individual changes would have the greatest impact on carbon emissions.
Other research would indicate that gap in knowledge is not unique to young people – another ESRI study earlier this year found people tend to underestimate the benefits of high-impact actions, such as eating less meat, and overestimate the benefits of low-impact actions like recycling.
Despite the need for more information on identifying how impactful an action can be, many young people studied by this latest research still indicated that they planned to avoid high-emission actions such as long-haul flights or eating meat.
Participants in the study were presented with 10 hypothetical future climate policies and asked how strongly or not they would support them.
The idea of fining businesses that exceeded an emissions limit received the most backing with 78% strongly in favour, followed by 71% for lower taxes on carbon-neutral goods.
Making renewable energy mandatory, even if it was more expensive, was strongly supported by 65% of participants. Similarly, 60% would back a ban on harmful subsidies even if it made products more expensive.
Creating car-free zones in towns or cities and banning non-essential domestic flights both received strong support from 57% of the participants.
A higher tax on energy-inefficient homes to fund grants for retrofitting and higher taxes on meat to fund green agriculture garnered strong support from 47% and 43% respectively.
Other measures were less popular; just 33% would strongly back higher fuel taxes to fund public transport, with only 29% strongly in favour of limiting annual flights per person.
Director of the EPA’s Office of Evidence and Assessment Dr Eimear Cotter said that the “environmental challenges facing Ireland can only be addressed if all citizens and stakeholders are engaged and empowered”.
She said the EPA was “encouraged” by the finding that “over 90% of young people in Ireland feel that protecting their environment is very important”.
“The EPA places a high value and sense of urgency on engaging with this audience to foster a greater understanding, a genuine sense of ownership and hope for the future.”
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Ban domestic flights only after you build a railway network or even a motorway to places like Donegal. €250bn debt and feck all infrastructure outside of the east/south.
lol interesting how they want to only ban the stuff that doesn’t affect them. Most young people bus it around cities, and most dont take domestic flights. But they don’t want to impose a limit on how many times a year you can fly internationally, because its essential for them to go on more than a few holidays a year? f off.
@Gearóid MacEachaidh: I have never been on an electric bus in Europe. Where are these buses?
@Gearóid MacEachaidh: You tell me the exactly what young people are doing to save the climate? leaving the beaches and parks like landfills, mass consumerism and are you KIDDING me with the holidays?? i wirk in an office, and believe me, they do it. Women in there are always going on about their kids going here there and everywhere, for up to a month or six months at a time. So spare me. And im not as old as you, i bet.
@Allora: I was just thinking that. He just wants to be hip, defending the young people, like they give a s hite whether he does or not.
@Allora: there are plenty in Dublin. Literally loads.
@Pauline Gallagher: “hip”? Haha no I’d safely say you are older than me.
@Pauline Gallagher: you’re full of it! Secondary and college age kids going on 6 month holidays!?! What a load of bs. As for the ones littering beaches, yeah, there are scrotes in every age group but young people are far more aware of the climate than previous generations and that’s a fact, not an opinion.
@Gearóid MacEachaidh: ever hear of travelling?? they are ALL doing it
@Gearóid MacEachaidh:But thats the whole issue. They are aware, EVERYONE is more aware but what difference does awareness make? we can all be aware and still expect it to be someone elses problem. And young people stamp their feet and demand action yesterday, like its that easy. Its entirely the job of the government to do something. They demand action, as long as it doesn’t cost them in any way. apart from raising the cost of everything and banning things, there is nothing else to be done, but you raise taxes and make sustainable living more expensive, there are complaints about that as well, but the complaints come from adults, because they are paying for everything. The biggest problem with young people is they are naïve and looked after. When they get out there on their own they wont be so interested in climate activism because they wont want to be the ones paying for it.
Ban First Class and Business Class, as they are far more polluting.
Also ban private jets.
@Donal McCarthy: that’s not really going to make much of a difference.. sounds more like you have a chip on your shoulder about wealthy people more than anything
@Donal McCarthy: The jacks in Economy are far worse.
@Ciaran: Private jets may not be a common thing, but they are not necessary and are usually used by people who preach to us about climate, like high ranking politicians or celebrities.
@Ciaran: Not at all. I love money.
Getting rid of business class would actually make a significant difference to aviation’s carbon footprint, especially with long haul.
Firstly, on a straight carbon footprint basis, business class is four times worse than economy.
Getting rid of business class would reduce traffic as people would make other choices (use Teams or Zoom for that meeting).
Getting rid of business class would also eliminate the subsidy on economy, making economy more expensive, again forcing people to make other choices.
Something like this is obviously not going to save the polar bears all by itself, but the cumulative effect of all changes will be what saves us, if we can make those changes.
Ah yes, the 2 remaining domestic routes in Ireland are really having such a damaging impact! How many flights between Dublin and Donegal or Dublin and Kerry are there a day? Feck all
@Gregson from the Block: patronising twaddle
@DJ François: to think those worries suddenly end at 24….lol
Wait till these spoilt brats are out working and getting fleeced in taxes,I bet they won’t be so eager
about the climate
So this ‘youth’ subset, these are the ones ferried to & from everything from birthday parties to after-school sports to ‘youth discos’ etc…………in cars, driven by their parents, yeah ?
You just watch all those high fallutin’ ‘principles’ go out the window as soon as they leave education and start to work………. no magic fairy dust gets you to the office/shop/factory for a 6/7/8 am start……..and then home again. You just watch them go buy cars then………
@John Moylan: Or they’ll cycle and lobby for decent and affordable public transport instead of getting bitter at the next generation. My parents were actively against corporal punishment in schools despite the fact that they were beaten in schools. They campaigned against ground rents instead of accepting that things would never change. At some point people have to stop begrudging and gloating when everyone’s life is just as hard and work on having better future prospects.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Yes because campaigning against getting beaten at school is exactly the same as this. How did i not see that? and if you think for one second pampered young people are going to campaign for WORSE living conditions when they get older, you need your head examined.
Good to see these attitudes. Hopefully the kids will be bringing their parents and grandparents kicking and screaming into climate reality before climate change does this for them.
Also indicates that the big changes we need to make to minimise climate change will increasingly move into the political mainstream.
@Urban Living Dublin: it really wont. When these kids start start moving back home and move out of places like Dublin, they’ll realise very quickly that their ideas and concepts are skewed. When they start to work a full time job and realise the amount of tax they have to pay, their thought processes on grandioise ideas also starts to change. How can anyone argue against a €40 return flight from Dublin to kerry which takes 40 minutes one way in comparison to a 3+ hour train from Dublin to kerry with 1 change that costs €33 one way?
@Urban Living Dublin: WHAT attitudes? they are cherry picking the things that they want to see done, the things that will have the least impact on them.
@An Drew Bearla: I’m sure there will be a few who might change their opinions, but it is already clear that the climate issue sits firmly in the mainstream. This despite the main voting block being a generation who did not grow up with anxieties about climate change.
It would make sense that actions that need to be taken will follow, particularly when the next generations who have grown up with climate concerns start voting.
@Pauline Gallagher: Exactly. Not a word about the smartphone in their hand or the social media which they basically live on. Both of these have a large impact on climate change. They’ll struggle to change their behaviours around those I’d imagine.
@Urban Living Dublin: Thats bull. There might not have been the same hysteria surrounding it in the 80s and 90s, but we learned about the ozone layer and greenhouse gases, greenpeace was huge, there have been recycling bins since i dont know, the 90s?? unleaded petrol, wind powered things, businesses’ such as google operating as carbon neutral for decades ect ect ect. If you think Greta enlightened everyone, youre wrong.
@Pauline Gallagher: ozone layer and unleaded petrol has little to do with the climate, but you bring up two good examples that became mainstream ideas that were eventually followed up on with action.
I also lived through the 80s and 90s and learned about greenhouse gasses. However, we did not speak of climate anxiety then and neither was there nearly as much pressure to act as there is now. There is a difference between a radical idea becoming mainstream and radical action becoming mainstream.
Greta says nothing new, but I reckon she articulates the concerns of her generation quite well. Never a bad idea to listen to the impending generation of voters to get an idea of what is to come.
@Urban Living Dublin: the new generation only care about being right and appearing to be activists, but taking individual responsibility? not so much. And Greta ‘how dare you!’ and ‘i shouldnt be here’ is not exactly the poster girl for articulate.
@Urban Living Dublin ok, the ozone layer,and the petrol are not related to climate. but there has always been concerns for the environment. And her generation as you put it, have very grandstanding views, but they do not translate into actually wanting to do anything themselves. Greta paints them all with the same brush like they are victims of a previous generation, but what are they doing thats any different or better? very, very little (apart from throwing sh*T over priceless paintings and going on ranty marches)
@Pauline Gallagher: OK so we are facing into an extreme crisis for humanity and you want to carp about those who are calling for some action. Maybe your priorities are just a little skewed?
@Nicholas McMurry: Hey, Im doing MY bit, believe me. But i will not tolerate the double standards of ‘do as i say, not as i do’ from some snot half my age
@Pauline Gallagher: sorry, but what you’re saying comes across as crotchety bitterness about the youth, with little grounding in reality. Feel free to back up your words with evidence.
I also haven’t heard much from Greta painting herself as the victim of a previous generation (your interpretation perhaps, but again, feel free to provide evidence). Rather she is challenging current leaders to do more about the issue.
@Urban Living Dublin: And where is the evidence that they are doing anything? I dont know about you, but i have yet to hear of anyone under the age of 25 abandoning their lifestyle in the name of climate change. But people like you, who think youre great defending young people (like they give a s**t whether you do or not) like to go straight to calling me bitter and not grounded in reality, which is just gaslighting the hell out of me. My points are valid,and are totally grounded in reality. I do more for the envoirnment for feck sake. My car is old, my phone is old, ive been on a plane once in five years.
@Urban Living Dublin: you havent heard Greta Thunberg painting herself as a victim of the previous generation?? thats her M.O! thats ALL she talk about! what??
@Urban Living Dublin: what is climate anxiety and why are people trying to talk an imaginary ailment into reality. The term is anxious not ‘I have anxiety’. It’s not a medical condition it does not bestow (or should not) social status. It is a physiological reaction that every mamal experiences regularly throughout their life.
that is the biggest joke I’ve read today. under 24s in favour of green energy even if it costs more. yes sure it’s all fine as long as the government provides handouts to lower the impact on the poor low paid workers who cannot afford a mortgage on minimum wage. utter BS
@DJ François: at the end of the day he is correct. Yes, they have ideas but especally in this day and age, the majority are in some form of education. And while the report gave us percentages of this age group agreeing with which policies, it did not show us the breakdown of the age group, such as how many in full time employment, or full time training / education and mixes therein.
Hey where’s the article that followed this about young people being willing to take less flights etc…why did you take it down!? Didn’t get the comments you were hoping for!!!
@Damien Leen: I know of one school where the kids asked that their school trip to Paris should be by bus and ferry rather than by air. All these screaming accusations of hypocrisy against an entire generation (as if they are all the same) strikes me as rather hypocritical.
@Joe_X: sorry, I forgot to mention why I consider it important. It’s about priorities. Those in full time work would have a differnt set of priorities to those in education who in my opinion are pretty sheltered. After all, they worry about exams while those in workforce worry about the next pay check.
Why so much negativity towards young people in the comments? It’s their future that’s on stake. We need more of them – like Greta Thunberg – to change awareness. I like to know how this survey results look like between the other age groups.
@Karin Ahlers: Aul lads love a whinge-fest
@Joe_X: I think you’ll find that a very significant proportion of third level students have (at least) a part-time job that they actually need to survive, and many full-time students have full-time jobs. And, they worry about their next “paycheck”. So, they don’t live a sheltered existence at all. You’re just regurgitating a long-time past stereotype.
An actual atmospheric scientist explaining climate change. A must watch https://youtu.be/k5_zpjerQFo
Domestic flights are near non existent in Ireland .
@Peter Redmond: and thats how clever these generation z ones are
@Kevin Farrell: and if you read my complete comment you will see I said “mixes therein”…which covers those you mean. And no, I am not regurgitating anything. I have been working since the age of 14, part time until 18 and started serving my time then, but anybody I see starting a job these days, either full time employment or apprentices are at least 22, if not more, having gone through college first. Are you trying to tell me they have the same priorities as I had at their age? Don’t think so.
I would like to see there same peoples answers to the same questions in 10 years, maybe 20, after they have some more experiences under their belts, then you’ll see how things have changed.
@Gearóid MacEachaidh: What a load. Number one, the study is Irish and there are next to no domestic flights worth talking about in this country. In America, domestic flights are essential. You expect businessmen to bus it from state to state for meetings? and it doesnt matter how green a bus or train is, NOBODY in the United States is going to travel thousands of miles on a bus or train, no matter how good the infrastructure is. The young people who recommended this for Ireland are either pure ignorant or are taking the p, as it definitely wont impact them. They were careful not to recommend a limit on international flights though, because what would they do if they couldnt hop on a plane to Ibiza or for a city break when they feel like it? I dont care what they do, but dont be acting like they give a sh*t. And to think, you defended them lol
Does the journal actually employ journalists or hire a couple of grads on work experience to plagiarise their internet , can’t remember the last original story on the journal
@Joe_X: Sure how are you going to get to work if they all buy cars? Traffic is gridlocked in our cities as it is.
I’d be well on board with banning short haul domestic flights where possible. In large countries like the USA they could have a limit on distance. However for that to be a viable alternative they would drastically need to upgrade public transport and make it green. The interstate public transport in the USA is practically 3rd world. Its better here, intercounty, but not much.
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