Young Germans more optimistic about energy transition than other age groups – survey
Clean Energy Wire
Forty-two percent of German young people (aged 18-29) believe the energy transition will secure the country’s prosperity, compared with 32 percent across all age groups, according to a survey of 10,000 people published by the E.ON Foundation, connected to German energy company E.ON. Young people in eastern Germany are particularly positive on the topic, with 57 percent seeing the energy transition in optimistic terms, versus 27 percent across all age groups in the east.
Seven percent of younger people cite climate change as the issue that currently worries them most. When surveyed, young people said their top issues were migration (43 percent), social division (20 percent) and military conflict/war (17 percent). Furthermore, two thirds of people in this age group feared that climate action would place an excessive financial burden on them. Yet, younger people and the oldest (65+) are more willing to bear a higher burden to strengthen the German economy than other groups.
"The report shows that initiatives such as Fridays for Future have not reached the mainstream of the younger generation in the long term,” said Stephan Muschick, managing director of the E.ON Foundation. “If we want to win young people over to change, we must take their real concerns seriously—and combine climate action with issues of social justice and social cohesion.”
These results come as the energy transition is an increasingly hot topic in Germany’s political debates. Acceptance among the population is critical for the successful transition to climate neutrality, for example for renewables and grid expansion, or the update of climate-friendly heating or transport.
