Public attitudes and action on energy and climate change: March 2023

Publication date: July 2023

Overview

Our market research programme monitors the mood of the nation relating to climate change, energy emissions and efficiency, and topics like electric vehicles. Every quarter, we survey 750 adult New Zealanders to track their beliefs, behaviours and attitudes to energy use and climate change. This survey canvassed New Zealanders from January – March 2023.

Findings

The extreme weather events early in the year appear not to have shifted the dial on climate change beliefs and attitudes, and the cost of living remains top of the list. However, there is a desire among New Zealanders for the country as a whole to act, and to continue making progress against climate change.

One area it appears the heavy rain and flooding may have had an impact is a four-point increase in concern for the state of the country’s transport infrastructure.

Even after little movement in our beliefs, there is still appetite for New Zealand to continue taking action against climate change​, with just under half the sample believing that New Zealand is not making the right amount of progress. 

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Electric vehicle consideration and favourability

Despite an all-time high in EV registrations, this quarter we haven’t seen growth in consideration in the total market.

The Consumer Monitor also shows a drop in the number of people who see EVs’ cheaper running costs as an incentive to buy – just 41%, a 9-point drop from the previous quarter. However, among EV owners, as shown in our recent EV charging survey, lower running costs remain the highest purchase driver.​​

Electric Vehicle Charging Survey

Read the full report

EECA will publish new reports each quarter to track how attitudes and actions are changing.

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