29 October 2007 09:28
Climate change a major concern for 10 times more children than gun and knife crime

British children are 10 times more likely to be worried about global warming than stabbings and shootings, according to new research published today by E.ON, one of the country's leading green energy providers.

The research shows that 20 per cent of seven- to 16-year-olds are concerned about global warming compared with just three per cent who voiced fears about street violence or the war in Iraq. But, among 13- to16-year-olds, the percentage who say they are worried about what is happening to the Earth's climate rises to 34 per cent.

The research, which forms part of E.ON's Changing Energy Report 2007, also shows that extreme weather (8%) pollution (6%) and melting ice-caps (5%) come out ahead of stabbings and shootings on the list of things children worry about.

Dr Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said: "I think these results show just how much our children are worried about climate change and how much we need as a nation to tackle global warming.

"Much has been written and spoken of late about youth violence - and that's clearly a very serious issue - but we also need to make big changes  

to our lifestyles today to ensure that the world we leave to our children tomorrow is one worth living in."

As part of the report, E.ON surveyed almost 2,000 adults nationwide and carried out face-to-face interviews with more than 500 children aged between seven and 16.

The research shows that there is a high awareness of global warming among children, with 51 per cent of seven- to nine-year-olds familiar with the term - a figure that rises to 96 per cent among 13- to 16-year-olds.

However, the findings also suggest that there is a lot of confusion among children about what constitutes green energy and how they can translate their concern into practical action.

Six in 10 children had little or no idea about how to describe green energy, while walking to school was by far the most popular method for saving energy (60%), ahead of rewarding people for recycling (37%), greater use of public transport (27%), banning fossil fuels such as oil and coal (17%) and limiting flying (13%).

Among adults, concern over pollution and climate change came second only to fears about crime and vandalism.

Adults were three times more worried about the environment than the state of their personal finances. But, despite this, a third claimed not to know how they could limit their own impact on the environment, other than through measures such as recycling and using energy efficient light bulbs.

Generally, Britons tend to save energy in order to save money, not the planet.

The research also found:

• The older we get the more we blame other countries for global warming - 60 per cent of those aged over 55 agreed that countries such as the USA, China and India were to blame for changes to the environment compared with just over a third (37%) of 16-24 year olds;
• Support for green energy but a reluctance to pay more for it - two thirds of adults said they would use electricity produced only from green sources but the same proportion said keeping energy bills as low as possible was very important to them;
• Opposition to individual carbon allowances - this idea was supported by fewer than four in ten people. Offshore wind power, on the other hand, was favoured by three-quarters of respondents;
• Marked regional variations in attitudes towards energy and the environment - for instance the Scots believe most strongly (86%) that global warming is man-made but are also the most hostile (23%) towards offshore wind farms, the public's most favoured way of reducing carbon emissions;
• Concern over the lack of leadership on the issue of energy and the environment - half of all respondents felt no-one, including government and business, was showing leadership in this area.

Dr Golby said: "It's clear that we as consumers want it all - low carbon generation combined with low bills - and it's equally clear that that simply isn't possible.

"It'll cost us billions of pounds to lower carbon emissions in the UK and a big part of how we can do that is by getting customers to use less electricity - and we have to take individual responsibility for that. This is not a battle that the power industry can win alone."

Ends

Notes to editors:

Methodology

This report contains the findings from four separate research elements combined to give a representative view of the attitudes of the nation. All research was conducted by Brunswick Research. The individual elements on which this report is predominately based are as follows:

1. Telephone survey with a nationally representative survey of 1,946 UK adults aged 16+, between 9 and 18 March 2007. Data has been subsequently weighted to the national population profile.

2. Face-to-face survey with a nationally representative survey of 524 children aged 7-16, between 15 March and 1 May 2007. Again data has been subsequently weighted to the national population profile.

3. Three extended workshop sessions, one each in Banbury (Oxfordshire), Colwyn Bay (North Wales) and Glasgow. In all groups, around 20 people from a diverse mix of backgrounds (age, gender, socio-economic group and ethnicity) were included to reflect the local population. In Colwyn Bay, however, all participants were pensioners;

4. Four children's workshops, each with 10 children. Two workshops were held in Newcastle and two in Reading. To ensure productive and comfortable research sessions, the participating children were selected in age groups. One group in each location consisted of 8-10 year olds and one with 11-12 year olds.

Research quotes included:

"The country and polar bears are in trouble and, if the ice caps go away, they can't go on land so it'll force them to go into villages." Eight- to 10-year-old

"Greenhouse gases, there's a hole in the atmosphere and the sun is getting through and melting all the ice caps and things." 11- to 12-year-old

"Our computer guy makes turn our PCs off, but the PE showers are always on. They turn them on at the beginning of the day and then turn them off at the end of school." 11- to 12-year-old

 "We might live in darkness if we use up all the electricity." 11- to 12-year-old

About E.ON.UK

• E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. We employ around 18,000 people in the UK. Our retail business is a leading energy supplier in the UK, with around 8 million electricity and gas customer accounts. In addition, we have around 13,000 industrial and commercial customers. E.ON also sponsors The FA Cup and the ITV weather.

Renewable activities

• E.ON is one of the leading green generators in the UK, with 21 wind farms located from Cornwall to Northern Ireland. We also burn biomass material mixed with coal in two of our power stations and have just finished building the UK's largest dedicated biomass power station at Lockerbie. Combined, our renewable portfolio generates enough green energy to power the homes in a city the size of Manchester;
• We plan to spend £1bn on new renewables in the next five years, including new onshore and offshore wind, new biomass and wave and tidal power;
• Our target is to cut the carbon released by each kW of electricity we generate by 10% between 2005-2012, having already reduced it by 20% since 1990;
• We have 1,300MW of renewable capacity under development;
• We invested £53 million in energy efficiency in 2006.
• We are investing £50 million in new technologies and approaches over the next 5 years, through the Energy Technologies institute;
• We have Biodiversity Action Plans at many of our sites which align us with the UK target of significantly reducing biodiversity loss;
• E.ON Group recently announced it intends to reduced the carbon intensity of its generation by 50% by 2030 (on 1990 levels);
• E.ON Group aims to spend €3bn on green generation by the end of 2010.

For more information contact:

Jonathan Smith on 024 7618 3676

Emily Highmore on 024 7618 3680

Jamee Majid on 024 7618 3679

Deanna Mooney on 024 7618 3678