Awareness and knowledge

In the context of what worries British children about what they have recently seen or heard in the news or on television, the environment comes out as a major issue, above wars and violence. Indeed, 20% of children say global warming is something that they worry about, a further 8% worry about climate change or extreme weather and 6% worry about pollution. By contrast, wars and violence are each mentioned by 3% of children. Just under a third of children (30%) are not worried about anything they see or hear.

Q. I would now like to ask you some questions about energy usage and the environment. What worries you most about the things you have recently seen or heard in the news or on television? (Spontaneous top mentions)
Base: All UK children aged 7-16 (524), Brunswick Research

E.ON view

It's heartening in many ways that young people are so concerned about climate change because it shows that the UK’s attitudes towards making tough but necessary decisions are changing. It also suggests that the media's focus on 'bad news' such as stabbings and shootings is perhaps overstated. Climate change is real and it is of huge concern to future generations. That's why we're putting it at the very heart of our business at E.ON, whether through the billions of pounds that we intend to spend on renewable forms of generation and new, cleaner power stations or just in educating people about the threat and helping them to become more energy efficient.

What is clear is that we as a nation can no longer rest on our laurels. We have to take action now to leave the world in better shape for our children.