20 percent of students are asking parents to install new solar survey shows

According to a recent survey by BT Young Scientist, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of schoolchildren take into account the carbon footprint of the food they buy and have changed their eating habits to help fight climate change.

More than half of the 515 students surveyed, ages 11 to 18, said they were concerned about climate change, but more than 90 percent said they were confident science was the solution.

When asked what they are doing to fight climate change, young people say they are asking the adults in their lives to reduce energy use, and they are reducing waste and walking/biking to school, according to the Survey conducted in the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2023.

The results show that 20 percent of students are asking parents to install solar panels, 20 percent are asking parents to insulate their homes, and 10 percent are asking parents to switch energy suppliers.

When asked how serious the issue of climate change is on a scale of 1 to 10, students gave it an average rating of 8.75.

45 percent of respondents gave the topic a maximum “seriousness” of 10 and 22 percent rated it 9 out of 10 points.

A high proportion of respondents (52 percent) said they were sad or worried about climate change, while 8 percent said they were upset by the issue.

5pc said they felt ignored and another 5pc said they felt hopeless.

However, 16 percent of respondents said global warming has made them more determined to take action.

When it comes to a solution to climate change, science was high on the list of answers, while many said they believed behavioral and social sciences were also part of the solution.

When asked ‘Who is most responsible for tackling climate change?’, students identified government, the EU and business as the main actors.

Nevertheless, 40 percent of those surveyed named “I personally” or “everyone has to do their part” as the most important answer to this question.

It’s vital that young people’s voices are heard when it comes to one of the most pressing issues facing the world, said Priscilla O’Regan, communications director at BT Ireland, and that “we from the student projects at BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition that climate change and environmental issues are top priorities for many students.”

“This survey by BT Ireland and Global Action Plan shows that many young people are concerned and feel powerless about global warming,” she said.