Young people in Ireland are willing to fly less and eat less meat, but see the Government as having the responsibility to bring about change, according to new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute.
Most want to see non-essential domestic flights banned and car-free zones introduced in town and city centres.
The study, 'Youth Knowledge & Perceptions of Climate Mitigation', was based on a survey of 500 young people between the age of 16 and 24.
It found that while young people are more supportive of climate action than adults in other age groups, they had roughly the same level of knowledge about which actions can make most impact.
This meant that most struggled to identify which behaviour changes would have a high impact on climate mitigation.
Forty-three-percent agreed that avoiding long haul flights as a high impact change and just 34% listed a vegan diet as making a big difference.
The authors found that "broadly speaking, understanding of the relative impact of different Pro environmental behaviours is poor."
However, most of the young people surveyed did say they intend to take climate action.
Fifty-five-percent said they intend to limit the amount they fly in the future and 30% said they will avoid flying where possible.
Almost half (48%) of those who currently eat meat said they intend to eat less in the short-term and almost 30% plan to eat a plant-based diet in the long-term.
Ninety-percent of the group said they see protecting the environment as very important and most believe there are things they can do in their everyday lives to combat climate change. They feel a responsibility to do so, but also say the Government is more capable and more responsible for taking action to combat climate change than individuals.
There was no urban-rural or class divide amongst the participants with broadly the same levels of knowledge and support for climate action amongst all socio-demographic groups.
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The authors found that the only behaviour predicted by socio-economic status was likelihood of engaging in active travel, where youth from higher socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to do this.
They conclude that their study lends no support "to the view of climate change as an issue reserved for the urban middle-class."
In terms of how the Government should encourage younger people to engage on climate action, the report advises: "Rather than focusing on how to strengthen youth climate attitudes and promote individual behaviour, perhaps more critical is to create opportunities for youth to act on their current motivations".
It says policymakers "could continuously engage with young communities to incorporate their views in the decisions that will affect more of their lives".
Professor Pete Lunn, head of the ESRI's Behavioural Research Unit, said the research shows that young people are willing to support "quite radical policies that would clearly impact their future lives" in order to tackle the climate crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Prof Lunn said the issue of climate action is "really, really complex" and can be difficult for people to navigate their way through.
It shows that you cannot leave this policy issue up to individual choice, he added.
"It's going to have to be done through a combination of traditional measures and incentives, like taxes and regulations," he said.
"Sure, education communication is vitally important, but leaving it to that alone is not going to work, because the problem you’re dealing with is clearly too complex for us to get across to the population at large."
Ylva Andersson, lead author of the report said that overall, the results show that young people in Ireland are concerned about climate change and are highly motivated to act.
"But they will need resources and leadership to act on these motivations, given the complexity of the issues and young people’s limited understanding of how they can best help reduce emissions," she added.
Dr Eimear Cotter, Director of the EPA's Office of Evidence and Assessment, said she was encouraged by the survey.
"The environmental challenges facing Ireland can only be addressed if all citizens and stakeholders are engaged and empowered … The EPA places a high value and sense of urgency, on engaging with this audience to foster a greater understanding, a genuine sense of ownership and hope for the future."
