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Climate
Action
Research

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Climate Action Research 2021

Together with GlobeScan, an independent insights and advisory consultancy, we conducted research among over 34,000 people across 32 countries in 2021 to learn more about how people think, feel and act in relation to climate change.

Key findings

The pandemic is an extraordinary crisis that affected everyone, everywhere. Despite this context, we see that people’s concern about climate change remains high. Read more about how the pandemic has affected life at home in our IKEA Life at Home Report 2021.

87% are willing to take action to tackle climate change.

But there is a gap between people’s willingness to act, their level of worry and the amount of action they are taking

70% worry about climate change but only 39% say they take “a fair amount” or “a lot” of action in their everyday lives

The gap between worry and action is greatest in young people aged 18-24 yrs – they are more worried than average but as with other age groups, they still struggle to take action.

While 81% believe that individuals can help address climate change there are 5 persistent barriers: Not enough support from government, not enough support from business, too expensive, not knowing what to do, others not doing enough.

*Compared to 2019, more people see cost as a barrier and saving money as the top motivator

Three quarters of people would like to see significant action from businesses and governments

People recognise that systemic change is needed alongside individual action to make a meaningful difference and are looking to businesses and governments for more leadership.

People expect governments to:

83%

of people agree that governments should give more financial support for renewable energy production.

57%

of people support a tax on oil, gas and coal to help fight climate change.

68%

Over two thirds (68%) say they would like to vote in elections for candidates who are committed to reducing climate change.

People expect businesses to:

Reduce

their climate footprint through sustainable sourcing and lowering energy consumption.

Help

individuals reduce their own impact through circular solutions and affordable, sustainable products.

Advocate

speak out and raise awareness for more action and systems change from government and industry.

An opportunity exists for businesses to encourage and enable people to take more climate action, by helping to:

Educate

– offering practical guidance on what climate actions to take.

Inspire

– sharing the positive impacts of climate action for the planet and future generations.

Motivate

– showing benefits such as how climate action can save them money or be good for their health.

Climate Action at home

The overall level of individual climate action is broadly similar to 2019, both globally and within countries. Yet there are small pockets and areas around the world that are bucking the trend with positive change.

Plant-based diets

  • Whilst those eating primarily plant-based foods remains flat at 13% (compared to 2019) globally, we see some interesting trends in specific countries
  • In the USA alone, the rate of vegetarianism has doubled from 8% in 2017 to 16% in 2021.
  • There have also been increases in Sweden, the UK and Central European countries including Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland.
  • Vegetarianism is not up everywhere, however, with more people in China and India saying that meat is now an important part of their diet compared to in 2017.
  • 18-24 yr olds are the biggest champions of plant-based foods. Nearly one in five (19%) say they eat vegetarian or vegan food all or most of the time.

Shopping and consumption

  • People recognise the need to consume less. Nearly three-quarters of people (72%) agree that we all should consume less to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
  • A quarter of people (26%) say they mostly try to avoid buying new products, to reduce their impact on the environment, and further 40% say they avoid it sometimes.
  • Buying second-hand products is also increasing among some groups including the young: 25% of 18-24 yr olds say they buy second-hand items or clothing most or all of the time and this rises to 30% of young people in the USA.
  • However, the attachment to buying new things is still strong, with just over one third of people (36%) saying they like to buy new things most or all of the time. This is also higher among younger people.

Wasting less, keeping materials in use for longer

  • Six in ten people (62%) in 2021 say they always or mostly try to repair their household items before buying new replacements.
  • In China, India and Russia more people report sorting their waste for recycling this year than in previous years.
  • In Europe, recycling rates at home remain very high with 88% of people in Central Europe saying they sort their waste for recycling most or all of the time.

Climate Action Research – Together with GlobeScan

Download summary

Survey disclaimer

This survey was conducted online using national consumer research panels to recruit respondents in 32 countries with a total sample size of 34,059 adults (aged 18+).

The study ran in May and June 2021 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Ukraine and the USA.

We aimed to achieve a representative sample in each of these countries, with quotas in place for gender, age, region and education levels. However, in emerging economies, particularly China and India, where online access is not as widespread across all regions, the views of lower income, less educated and rural communities are underrepresented. Data from each of the 32 countries are weighted equally.

The findings build on two previous studies conducted in 2017 and 2019. The 2017 study covered 14 markets and the 2019 study covered 30 markets in total.