Young adults are more likely to fly, but one in five feel guilty

Young adults are less likely to adopt a climate-conscious lifestyle than older people and are more likely to display less environmentally friendly behaviour, such as travelling by air, national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

At the same time they are not under any illusions about their behaviour, giving themselves an average score of 6.2 out of 10 for living in a more climate-aware way – compared to the seven out of 10 score among older age groups.

People in the 18 to 24 age group are, for example, more likely to fly. In 2023, 61% of them said they had flown at least once in the previous 12 months, compared with 45% of 35 to 54-year-olds.

In total, 22% of the young adults said they felt guilty about the impact of flying on the planet, but 40% felt no flight shame at all. This is in line with older adults, apart from the over-65s, who are likely to feel more guilty about flying.