Young people lead the climate fight in Spain… but they resist paying green taxes
Young people are the group most concerned about the environment, but also one of those who most resist paying green taxes.. Spaniards between 18 and 34 years old do not hesitate to support actions that favor the fight against climate change, such as eating less meat and buying in second-hand stores, however, their support is much less forceful when it comes to implementing an ecological taxation.
This is clear from the latest report by the Cepsa Foundation and the consulting firm Red2Red, which concludes that, although young people are the most willing to contribute with their behaviors and daily decisions to reversing climate change, the trend is different when talking about measures. that involve an “economic sacrifice”.
Young Spaniards are at the forefront in the installation of solar panels (with almost 93% compared to 90% of the national average), they lead the repair of used appliances compared to their replacement with new ones (reaching 89% compared to the 86% average) and lead the consumption of second-hand products (74.5% compared to 64% nationally).
The picture changes when what is proposed is a greater fiscal contribution to sustain the energy transition, a measure that 42% of young people support, compared to 44.5% of national support.. Furthermore, this group is below average in the purchase of organic products, which are generally more expensive.. “Precisely, it is older people (65 years or older) who are more willing to pay more taxes to facilitate the ecological transition process and buy ecological products, even if they are more expensive,” reflects the report.
In Spain, environmental taxes are divided into three, depending on whether they tax energy (in 2021 they represented 82% of the total), transport (13.1%) or pollution and resources (4.9%).. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the collection from these ecological taxes amounted to 21,265 million euros in 2021, a figure that was 8.5% more than in 2020, although these rates lost weight compared to the total taxes of the Spanish economy, where they represented 7.2%, compared to 7.6% the previous year.
The Cepsa Foundation report, which has compiled more than 3,000 interviews with people over 18 years of age from all over Spain, shows the difference between the degree of anguish that climate change generates in young people and their position regarding the economic cost that it implies. the energy transition.
At the end of the month, in the balance of income and expenses, the climate is not yet a priority for young Spaniards who, according to the latest report from the Emancipation Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council, corresponding to the second half of 2022 , they allocate almost 84% of their net salary to rent and continue to emancipate themselves at an average age of over 30 years. Another fact: the percentage of young Spaniards who have left the family home does not reach 16%, compared to the 32% European average.
The climatic 'two Spains'
In addition to the differences by age groups, the report reveals notable discrepancies about the environmental problems that worry in large cities versus those that keep rural residents awake at night.. For those towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants, the great climate nightmare is drought (23.7%), a threat that occupies third position in cities with more than one million inhabitants (14.2%).
For the residents of the largest Spanish cities, the main concern is air pollution (53%) which in autonomous communities such as the Community of Madrid, the Basque-Navarre-Aragonese region and the Mediterranean coast occupies first position, with support from the 45%, 36% and 34%, respectively. In second place is waste management (26.5%).