Young people are less concerned about the climate than a few years ago. This is apparent from a study published on Thursday Ipsos I&Othat was carried out among 2,519 Dutch people aged eighteen and older. The behavior of young people was also less sustainable in 2024 than the years before.
Although knowledge about sustainable behavior has increased correctly, this hardly leads to actually more sustainable choices. Many young people feel that their individual behavior, such as buying fewer clothes or flying less, makes little to no difference, the researchers see.
The decrease in concern about the environment is greatest within the youngest group, young people from 18 to 24 years old. In 2019, 71 percent of this age group said they were worried about the climate – at the time the highest percentage of all age groups. In 2025 that fell to 66 percent, but is still relatively high. In the Netherlands, around 61 percent of people are concerned about the climate.
According to Ipsos, the shift can be partly explained because other concerns are higher on the list in young people. “Ask young people they are concerned about, and they call wars, the return of Trump, or practical problems such as coming around or finding a home. Hardly anyone calls climate change,” writes the research agency.
After years of decrease, the average CO₂ emissions of young people increased again last year. This increase is particularly visible in the field of mobility. Young people travel more by car and get on the plane more often: the average number of air travel per year increased from 0.9 in 2023 to 1.2 in 2025.
Read also
Fewer Dutch people worried about climate, although according to poll, most of them want more action