Climate protection versus flying for holidays: An impossible choice for young people

Climate protection versus flying for holidays

60% of Belgians say they consider climate change when choosing their holiday destination, compared to 55% of Dutch people and 56% of Luxembourgish people (EU average: 67%, Benelux average: 57%).

This concern is stronger or equal amongst people aged 15-29 (63% of Belgians, 58% of Dutch respondents, 55% of Luxembourgish respondents, EU average for 15-29 year-olds: 69%).

However, a majority of people aged 15-29 (56% of Belgians, 57% of Dutch people, 64% of Luxembourgish people) say they will fly for their summer holidays in 2022 (EU average for 15-29 year-olds: 52%).

In addition, 27% of young Belgians, 33% of young Dutch people, and 44% of young people in Luxembourg say they will even fly to a faraway destination (EU average for 15-29 year-olds: 27%).

EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters said: “Despite some clear generational gaps, people in Benelux are increasingly adapting their mobility and consumption habits in a more sustainable manner to tackle climate change. These shifts in individual behaviour show that people of all ages are willing to make stronger commitments in their daily lives to help mitigate the climate crisis. These intentions were voiced during COP26 and are a clear indicator of support for our efforts to foster the green transition. As the EU climate bank, one of the EIB’s key roles is to finance innovative projects that focus on electric mobility as well as other sustainable mobility solutions that help build a decarbonised future for all.”

Deputy Secretary General of the Benelux Union Frans Weekers said: “The energy and climate transition is a priority of the Luxembourg presidency of the Benelux Union in 2022. The results of the EIB survey make it clear to us that in addition to action plans, we must continue our work on explaining policy choices and related projects. We do so, for example, by organising events on the theme of solar and wind energy with our network of energy experts in the Benelux, and by developing our Benelux climate platform, which we recently launched at COP26. In concrete terms, we are also helping to monitor the sudden floods of last summer and are working tirelessly on the cross-border rollout of electric charging infrastructure.”

Download the Excel spreadsheet with the raw data for all 30 countries surveyed here. Please click here to access an EIB webpage presenting key findings of the EIB Climate Survey IV.

• 3 February 2022