Low-income households living much more sustainably than richer Dutch: SCP
Wealthy Dutch people are more worried about the climate but continue to live polluting lives. Lower-income households, who often are less concerned about global warming, live much more sustainability, the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) concluded in a study into the “climate gap” and what people say about the climate and actually do.
The SCP found that the majority of the population believes that citizens who pollute and earn the most should also contribute the most to sustainability. And that is not happening.
“Dutch people with a higher vocational or university education who have a relatively large amount of money to spend have major climate concerns, but this is hardly reflected in more sustainable behavior,” the SCP said. The opposite applies to many people with a low income. “They behave significantly more sustainably than the average Dutch person, while they endorse the urgency of the climate problem less.”
People with higher education and better-paid jobs hold on to their acquired lifestyle. They keep buying things, traveling by car or plane, buying more food than they need, and heating their homes. People are generally nervous to change what they are used to, and going green from such a large footprint often requires significant changes.
Low-income households, on the other hand, often live sustainably out of necessity. A smaller budget forces people to only buy what they need and be sparing with things like heating. An environmentally friendly lifestyle can coincide with a skeptical attitude towards the climate crisis in this way.
The SCP noted that three-quarters of Netherlands residents consider the climate crisis a worrying problem that requires solutions. But about three in ten people are actively angry about the amount of attention paid to the climate, feeling it detracts from “more urgent problems” like the housing shortage and poverty. According to the SCP, an “open conversation” about attitude and behavior in the climate approach is needed to prevent the response to this crisis from driving a wedge between these two population groups.
The SCP suggested more accessible options to learn about the climate crisis, like talks at sports clubs, associations, and houses of worship. Dutch people are also more inclined to take measures if they are financially attractive. The government could, therefore, focus more on how people can save money through sustainable behavior—like lowering their energy bills by insulating their homes. The DNB made a similar proposal in a report showing that almost all Dutch homeowners can afford sustainability measures.
