Britons with eco-anxiety about the climate crisis are making misguided lifestyle changes — like reducing their plastic consumption — when better choices exist.
Researchers found that nearly two-thirds of people are concerned about climate change and the same amount are prepared to make changes to address it.
However, the most meaningful changes to reduce our carbon footprints were only recognised as such by around 4–5 per cent of people.
These included switching to renewable energy, eating less meat and flying less.
In contrast, 18 per cent of adults surveyed said that cutting down on plastic would be the most impactful change they could make — despite this being less effective.
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Britons with eco-anxiety about the climate are making misguided lifestyle changes — like reducing their plastic consumption — when better choices, like cutting out fossil fuels, exist
Researchers commissioned by renewables firm Good Energy surveyed 2,000 British adults about their awareness of the climate crisis, the actions they would take to help combat it — and how productive they thought different actions were.
They found that 61 per cent of people are growing more concerned about climate change, and 65 per cent are ready to make lifestyle changes for sustainability.
However, 42 per cent of respondents said that they were unclear which actions they could take to make the most positive difference.
The top change people assumed would help the environment was cutting down on their plastic waste — but this action, the researchers warn, does little in fact to lower an individual’s carbon footprint.
In contrast, the most meaningful lifestyle changes — such as switching to a renewables-only energy tariff, flying less and cutting down on meat consumption — were only top of around 4 per cent of people’s lists.
‘People have been bombarded with messages about plastic pollution following the success of shows such as Blue Planet,’ said environmental scientist Alexandra Jellicoe.
‘So it’s no wonder many think reducing plastic is the top thing they can do to combat the climate crisis.
‘Although essential for the health of our oceans, switching to reusable bags and cups has a minimal impact on an individual’s carbon footprint.’
‘One of the biggest things individuals can do is to freeze out fossil fuels by reducing air travel and switching to a green energy supplier.’
The researchers said the average household could cut more than 4T of carbon emissions from their footprint every year by changing to a renewable energy tariff.
This is the equivalent in emissions of more than four London–New York flights.
The most meaningful lifestyle changes to combat the climate crisis — such as switching to a renewables-only energy tariff, flying less and cutting down on meat consumption — were only top of around 4 per cent of people’s lists of ideas for meaningful actions
The survey is being released just as the Friends of the Earth launch a campaign to encourage people to switch to renewable energy sources.
‘To combat the climate crisis, we urgently need to transition away from fossil fuels which generate vast quantities of carbon and pollute the atmosphere,’ said Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett.
‘While government policy will obviously be key to accelerating that transition at scale, each of us can play our part by making simple changes to our lifestyle.’
‘If each household in the UK were to switch to renewable energy today, we could save millions of tonnes of carbon every year.’
‘There are simple things you can do, today – eat less meat, fly less and use green energy. We can still avoid climate breakdown if we are bold enough to act now,’ said Good Energy CEO Juliet Davenport, pictured
‘We are facing a climate emergency and need a whole systems approach to tackling it — which means government, business and individuals working together to accelerate positive change,’ said Good Energy CEO Juliet Davenport.
Good Energy provides its customer base with electricity entirely from UK-based renewable sources including wind, hydro, solar and bio-generation.
‘It’s vital that consumers are empowered to take action against the crisis, but our survey reveals deep confusion as to which actions make a difference.’
‘There are simple things you can do, today – eat less meat, fly less and use green energy. We can still avoid climate breakdown if we are bold enough to act now.’
