• More than a third (37%) of those aged 18-34 doubt the environmental benefits of domestic energy efficiency measures and green heating.
• Young people more likely than older generation to be unsure about research and finding the right tradespeople.
• Survey of more than 5,000 consumers highlights ‘value-action gap’ across all ages – consumers care about tackling climate change but aren’t yet ready to make changes at home.

LONDON – 30 June 2021: Young people are almost twice as likely as the older generation to doubt the environmental benefits of energy efficiency measures and green heating, new research shows.

The survey of more than 5,000 people found that more than a third (37%) of 18-34-year-olds are “sceptical” about the benefits for the planet of making changes at home – compared to just 22% of those aged 55 and above.

Innovation foundation Nesta also found that those aged 18-34 are more likely to be put off by the perceived effort of researching things like low-carbon heating systems, double glazing and insulation.

For example, 41% don’t know where to start looking into energy efficiency measures, compared to 23% of those in the 55-plus age category.

Similarly, nearly half (42%) of 18-34-year-olds say it would be difficult to find the right tradespeople to install a new energy efficiency measure, compared to around a quarter (27%) of older people.

Those aged 55 and over are, however, more likely to have positive perceptions of gas as a fuel – with 58% associating it with reliability compared to just a third (33%) of 18–34-year-olds.

Nesta warned that this could prove a barrier to older people adopting low-carbon heating technologies like heat pumps and hydrogen.

Madeleine Gabriel, a director at Nesta and one of the report authors, said: “Our research reveals a clear and perhaps unexpected generational divide.

“Contrary to what many people might have assumed, it seems it’s younger people who will need the most support, guidance and education as the UK seeks to drastically cut household carbon emissions, which needs to happen if we’re to achieve net zero by 2050.

“Meanwhile, despite their often long-held positive associations with gas, older people tend to be clearer on the environmental benefits of making changes at home.

“This underlines the complexity of the challenge facing policymakers as they look to engage people in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future by building consumer trust and confidence.”

The survey findings are contained in a new report by Nesta, called Decarbonising Homes: Consumer attitudes towards energy efficiency and green heating in the UK.

The report highlights a “value-action gap”, whereby consumers care about the future of the planet but aren’t changing their behaviour at home.

For example, across all age groups, 84% of people say everyone will have to adopt energy efficiency measures and green heating at home sooner or later, and 83% are open to the idea – but only 35% have made changes or plan to soon.

Nesta has made decarbonising domestic heating one of its three strategic focus areas up to 2030, by which time it wants to help cut UK household emissions by 28% from 2019 levels by stimulating innovation and new thinking.

Nesta’s report, Decarbonising Homes: Consumer attitudes towards energy efficiency and green heating in the UK, examines consumer attitudes to energy efficiency and green heating, exploring barriers to adoption as well as possible incentives that could be tested and implemented to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

To develop the report, Nesta commissioned Savanta ComRes to conduct an online survey with a representative sample of 5,022 UK adults in February 2021.

Survey participants were asked:

1. What are the main barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures and green heating, and what is their relative importance?
2. What might incentivise the adoption of energy efficiency and green heating, and which incentives are most likely to drive change?

A PDF version of the full report can be accessed here:

We are Nesta, the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We confront challenges that affect millions of people, from inequality and ill-health to the climate crisis.

We believe that innovation offers more potential now than ever before. We see opportunities to mobilise citizens and influence behavior. Private and public capital that can be used more creatively. A wealth of data to mine.

And so we draw on these rich resources by bringing together diverse teams. Data scientists, designers and behavioural scientists. Practitioners, academics, entrepreneurs and people with lived experience.

Together, we design, test and scale new solutions to society’s biggest problems. We partner with front-line organisations, build new businesses and work to change whole systems. Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to put new ideas to the test.

We'll keep going until we change millions of lives, for the better. Find out more at www.nesta.org.uk.