Q. Have you heard of the words ‘global warming’ before today or not?
Base: All UK children aged 7-16 (524), Aged 7-9 (150), Aged 10-12 (155), Aged 13-16 (219), Brunswick Research

However, different age groups describe ‘global warming’ in different ways. Younger children framed ‘global warming’ in terms of the impact upon animals and wildlife, and a sense that cars were behind a lot of the damage.

Older children’s knowledge was more detailed and sophisticated, and they were more likely to see global warming within the context of carbon emissions or greenhouse gases.

E.ON view

What is clear from the research is that there is an increasing sophistication amongst children about what climate change actually means and how it has happened. So they are moving from having a basic reaction to the famous image of a polar bear on an ice flow – almost designed to appeal to children – to a greater realisation of the causes and the issues. That greater realisation,something that is helped by our Energy Experience educational resource, can only be good for the future. Producing an energy literate generation is vital to making a sea change in the way that energy – and the emission of carbon – is viewed in what will inevitably be a low carbon nation as we go forward.