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Press Release
Generation Z wants more action for a sustainable future,
reveals global research from Masdar
Climate change and environmental degradation will pose the world’s gravest threat over
the next 10 years, according to online study of Post-Millennials in 20 countries
Marrakech, Morocco, November 16, 2016 – 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, the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Morocco,
the ‘Masdar Gen Z Global Sustainability Survey’ is the first global survey of the attitudes of
young people aged 18-25 – the demographic cohort known as ‘Generation Z’ – towards
climate change, sustainable development and renewable energy.
The landmark online 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. Countries
were also classified according to their economic development as either developed, emerging
or frontier.
Carried out earlier this year to coincide with Masdar’s 10-year anniversary, the survey offers
a valuable insight into the thinking of tomorrow’s decision makers on the critical issues of
energy and sustainability.
The findings clearly illustrate the level of concern among young people about climate change,
with 40% of those surveyed 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%).
Post-Millennials also made clear their appetite for a stronger say on sustainability, with eight
in ten (83%) saying governments need to listen more to young people about the issue. A
similar number (80%) believe current leaders have not done enough to protect the
environment, and it is up to their generation to build a more sustainable future.
They think government and the private sector share responsibility for developing clean
technology (81%), but they expect more government investment in renewable energy (84%).
According to Masdar’s survey, today’s youth also see their own behaviour as particularly
important when it comes to supporting clean technology. Half (50 per cent) believe that
getting individuals to change their behaviour is one of the main barriers to investing in
renewable and clean technology.
Encouragingly, almost two in three young people (59%) said they are interested in working or
studying in an area related to sustainability. This trend is particularly pronounced in emerging
(67%) and frontier (72%) economies.
“The UAE believes youth engagement is critical in our path to a sustainable future,” said His
Excellency Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment.
“The findings from Masdar’s Gen Z Sustainability Survey reflect the UAE’s leadership in
advancing and creating awareness of renewable energy and sustainable development
worldwide.”
“We cannot deliver on sustainable development without empowering our young people,”
said Her Excellency Shamma bint Sohail Faris Al Mazrui, UAE’s Minister of State for Youth
Affairs and Chairwoman of the Emirates Youth Council. “The Masdar Gen Z Global
Sustainability Survey shows that our youth seek to lead change in sustainable development
and the future energy economy. Both government and the business community have a golden
opportunity to harness youth’s ideas, vigour and optimism.”
Her Excellency further emphasised the importance of youth research for future policy
creation and decision-making.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), said: “There are marked differences between countries and
regions in young people’s views on the environment and climate change, but one thing is
clear. 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%) think they are setting the best
example when it comes to environmentally responsible behaviour, and many are prepared to
use their consumer power to reward or punish companies over their sustainability record.
Almost half (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.
Young people in developed countries are more concerned about the financial costs of going
green than those in less developed nations. But solar power was the preferred future energy
source overall.
Commenting on the global Gen Z survey, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer
of Masdar, said: “We are pleased to see the high level of understanding of young people from
right across the world of the importance of delivering a more sustainable future. 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.
Today’s youth are the policymakers, industry leaders, technical experts and consumers of
tomorrow – an audience with whom we and the wider energy and sustainability community
must engage to realise a more sustainable future.”
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MASDAR GEN Z SUSTAINABILITY SURVEY: TOP 10 GLOBAL FINDINGS
1. Youth say climate change will be biggest threat to the world over the next 10 years,
ahead of the economy and the threat of terrorism
When asked to name the top three challenges facing the world today, thirty-two per cent of
young people said climate change and the environment, after poverty & inequality (36%) and
terrorism (33%). And 40% overall say the issue will be the most important challenge faced by
Earth in the next 10 years, ahead of the economy (34%), terrorism (32%), poverty & inequality
(29%) and unemployment (29%).
Fifty-nine per cent of young people in Europe, 53% in the Americas and 52% in Asia said that
news coverage was their main source of information about the environment. Fifty-four per
cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 27% in MENA said their environmental awareness came from
laws and regulations.
2. Young people want to find solutions to climate change
Young people were most concerned about air pollution (90% ‘very’ or ‘somewhat anxious’),
then water pollution (88%), humans running out of natural resources (87%), global warming
(86%) and availability of clean water (85%).
In sub-Saharan Africa, more than nine in 10 young people were very or somewhat anxious
about the availability of clean water (94%) and food shortages (93%).
The most important benefits of protecting the environment are not financial, young people
said. Forty-seven per cent said the primary benefit was ‘lowering pollution levels’, followed
by safeguarding the planet for future generations (46%), and sustaining biodiversity (36%).
Many young people are so committed to the environment that they want to use their career
to help it. Almost two in three (59%) said that they are interested in working or studying in an
area related to sustainability.
3. Government regulations are needed to help the environment but corporations
should take equal responsibility
Young people believe that government and businesses have to work together on clean
technology, with 81% saying that they are equally responsible.
Seventy-five per cent of respondents in both MENA and Europe, and 80% in Asia, say the
same, as do nine-tenths of respondents in Africa (90%) and the Americas (87%). But
government regulation is needed to realise meaningful changes in behaviour on
sustainability, according to 86% of youth surveyed. The vast majority of Post-Millennials (83%
overall) believe the private sector has a responsibility to adopt renewable energy and clean
technologies, but very few companies have a genuine commitment in their eyes. Sixty-four
per cent of young people said that companies do the ‘bare minimum’ to comply with
environment regulations.
4. Youth say they’re doing more than most to be ‘green’
Young people said that they were doing more to help the environment than other
generations. Around half (46%) said that they were doing ‘more or much more’ than most
people, and 41% said they were doing at least the same. Their main contributions? Recycling
(58%), reducing energy consumption (51%) and using low-energy products (42%). Young
people said that a lack of infrastructure, in particular recycling bins, was the main barrier to
acting more sustainably, followed by a lack of support from business and the financial
community, with more than a quarter (26%) of those interviewed globally giving this answer.
Interestingly, only 21% worldwide felt that cost was the greatest barrier to adopting more
sustainable behaviour, but it was cited as the biggest obstacle in developed countries (21%)
and by 26% of Post-Millennials in the United States. Less than a tenth (8%) of respondents
overall expressed no interest in changing their lifestyle.
5. Young people boycott companies that harm the environment
Gen Z youth use their spending power to reward or punish companies based on their
perceived impact on their environment. Almost half (46%) of those interviewed said that they
spend more money on a company’s product or service if it is environmentally sustainable.
Thirty-one per cent have boycotted a company for unsustainable practices. Young people in
China, Brazil, India, the UK and Saudi Arabia are the most likely to boycott a company for
environmental reasons. Youth in Kenya, Spain, Japan, Morocco, Egypt and the UAE are the
least likely.
Half (49%) think that green products are just as good as the conventional alternatives. But
Gen Z youth in the Middle East are the least likely to think this, with only a fifth to a third of
respondents in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Jordan saying that both types of products are
equally good.
6. Behavioural change is needed to help renewable energy investment
Getting individuals to change their behaviour and the cost of new and improved technology
are the main barriers to investment in renewable technology, according to the survey, with
each obstacle cited by 50% of respondents.
Counterintuitively, youth in frontier countries feel more empowered than their peers in
wealthier countries to take action on the environment, with 95% saying that they do not
regard their lifestyle as barrier to them doing more for the environment personally, compared
to 89% in developed nations.
So what are the biggest drivers of green technology? A society that values the environment
over wealth creation and financial gain (48%), followed by a good education system and
world-class universities (42%), and public demand for change (ranked joint third with the
impact of climate change). Entrepreneurship and a vibrant community of small-to-medium
sized businesses are prioritised by a fifth (19%) of Post-Millennials globally.
7. Education is vital in making the world more sustainable
Encouraging responsible behaviour on the environment starts at home, with 82% of
respondents saying they trust family the most to set a positive example. Schools and
educational institutions came second at 74%. Big business ranked joint eighth (48%) alongside
national governments in terms of trust, above religious leaders but well below small and local
businesses (trusted by 61% of the Gen Z sample).
In MENA, schools and education bodies are seen to exert the most influence on the
sustainability and renewable energy debate, after the general public (ranked first). The United
Nations, the media and environmental NGOs round out the top-five influencers for Arab PostMillennials.
8. Developed countries seen as clean-tech leaders
Germany is seen as the leading country for clean-tech, then Canada, the United Kingdom and
the United States. The UAE was the highest rated MENA country, ranked just outside the top
10. Nearly half of respondents (49%) believe that their country has been getting greener over
the last year or so. Youth in China are the most confident about their country’s performance
(but only one in five think their country is ahead of others in terms of investing in clean
energy), followed by youth in the UAE and Jordan. Youth in Egypt, South Korea and Nigeria
are the least confident.
9. Solar and wind energy are the favoured green energies
Sixty-three per cent of Post-Millennials around the world believe that solar power should be
their country’s priority energy source in the future, according to Masdar’s study. Around half
(49%) want their country to focus on wind power, the top choice of youth in Germany and
the UK, while more than a third overall (37%) point to hydroelectric power.
Solar energy is the most preferred future energy source in the UAE (53%), followed by natural
gas and oil. After the UAE, the preference for natural gas is highest in China (35%) and Russia
(29%). Nuclear energy receives the most endorsement from youth in Jordan (35%) and India
(32%), while Saudi Post-Millennials are unsurprisingly the most attached to oil.
More than a third (38%) of Gen Z youth in Saudi Arabia see oil as the country’s priority future
energy source.
10. Young people in frontier countries are the most committed to creating a sustainable
future
Considering the exposure of Frontier countries to the effects of climate change, youth in
Jordan, Kenya and Nigeria are the most concerned about the environment, with 66% saying
they are ‘very concerned’ about the environment, compared with 48% of youth in emerging
countries, and 34% in nations classed as developed in the study.
Interestingly, Post-Millennials in the frontier states surveyed are the most likely to believe
that all countries have a shared responsibility to adopt renewable energy and clean
technologies, rather than it being the main duty of wealthy countries, with 73% taking this
view. Frontier nations are also the most optimistic about the adoption of renewable energy
in their country, with 83% saying that their country will have made significant progress during
their lifetime.
Frontier youth are more committed than youth in other countries to buying environmentallyfriendly products, and 52% say that the general public should be taking the initiative on
adopting sustainable energy consumption and production, compared to 43% and 39% of
youth in emerging and developed economies, respectively.
-EndsSurvey Methodology*
The ‘Masdar Gen Z Global Sustainability Survey’ was done by international polling firm Penn Schoen Berland
(PSB). It analysed what members of the post-millennial cohort (those aged between 18 and 25) worldwide
think about the environment, climate change, sustainability and renewable energy.
PSB conducted 4,704 online interviews between March 4 and March 29, 2016 in 20 countries: three in the
Americas (US, Mexico and Brazil), four in Europe (UK, France, Germany and Spain), three in sub-Saharan Africa
(Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa), five in the Middle East & North Africa (Morocco, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia
and Jordan), and five in Eurasia (Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan).
The findings were also analysed according to the economic development of the participating countries, with
countries classified as either ‘Developed’ (Germany, France, Spain, UK, US and Japan), ‘Emerging’ (Brazil,
China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South Africa, UAE, Morocco) or ‘Frontier’
(Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria).
Youth respondents were interviewed about subjects including climate change; awareness of and responsibility
for environmental issues; their own personal actions on the environment; renewable energy; education and
sustainability; and the development of clean technology including wind and solar power.
PSB conducted between 100 and 300 interviews per country depending on the level of internet penetration.
The survey’s margin of error is +/-1.43% for the total sample, with sub-groups having a larger margin of error.
For more information and the full survey results, visit www.masdar.ae/GenZSurvey.
About Masdar
Masdar is Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company which works to advance the development, commercialisation
and deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil
fuel economy and the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Development Company
PJSC, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the United
Arab Emirates’ long-term vision for the future of energy and water.
Contacts:
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