Unveiled at COP22 in Morocco, the ‘Masdar Gen Z global sustainability survey’ is the first global poll of the attitudes among 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 5,000 post-millennials in 20 countries across the Middle East and 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 per cent of those interviewed naming it among the biggest challenges facing the world in the next decade, ahead of the economy (34 per cent), terrorism (32 per cent), poverty and inequality (29 per cent) and unemployment (29 per cent).
Eight in ten (83 per cent) post-millennials also said governments needed to listen more to young people about sustainability. A similar number (80 per cent) believed current leaders had not done enough to protect the environment.
They thought government and the private sector shared responsibility for developing clean technology (81 per cent), but they expected more government investment in renewable energy (84 per cent).
Almost two in three (59 per cent) said they were 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 per cent) had chosen to spend more money on products from a company that behaved sustainably, and 31 per cent had boycotted a company 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.”