A national poll of 18-30-year-olds found that they are more supportive of individual actions than government policies and more trust in innovative corporations than politicians.
Conducted by the American Conservation CoalitionThe organization, which aims to mobilize young people for environmental action, asked questions about a variety of environmental priorities. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said “environmental protection” was very or somewhat important. Some of the most interesting insights are about how to protect the natural environment.
When asked who they trust to protect the environment or fight climate change, 32 percent of respondents who consider themselves “independent” answered they trusted neither party. When asked who they trusted to “get things done,” the number of people answering “neither” party jumped to 37 percent.
Additionally, when asked how important a role different groups played in “combatting climate change and protecting the environment,” the group receiving the highest percentage among all respondents was “individuals.” This is remarkable (and encouraging) because many of the messages about environmental policy – especially from politicians – denigrate the impact of individual action, claiming only the government can take meaningful action. The federal government is the largest, followed by local government.
Finally, although respondents ranked “business leaders” slightly lower on the list of those who should play an important role in fighting climate change, when specific businesses were mentioned, they fared far better than politicians. The poll revealed that Joe Biden received a net nine point negative rating. However, Amazon was plus 41% and Microsoft was plus 48%. Elon Musk was a plus fifteen.
Two things stand out from these numbers.
First, although young people generally trust Democrats more than Republicans on environmental policy, they don’t have much faith that politicians will have much success. They rate political leaders very poorly and large percentages of young people say they don’t trust either party.
Second, private sector innovation is more trusted than politicians. Amazon and Microsoft, two companies that are known for innovation, have much higher support than politicians. When it comes to the environment and climate change specifically, the role “business leaders” should play compared to government entities is small and within the margin of error.
According to poll results, there is a lot of support for innovation-based environmental solutions. A large number of young people will support politicians, innovators, and public officials who offer credible solutions to environmental sustainability that empower individuals, and harness technological innovation.
The entire poll can be found here Here are some examples.