Young Brits more 'eco-friendly' than US counterparts - and want to drive electric cars

A survey of 1,000 youths aged between 8 and 16 has shown that British children have a higher environmental consciousness than their U. S. counterparts.

An impressive 47% of these young Brits harbour the hope of driving an electric vehicle as their first car, while only 41% of American children aspire for a petrol-fuelled vehicle.

Additionally, data shows that once British children reach driving age, a substantial 17% would opt to cycle instead. Meanwhile, attitudes towards the future of motoring differ greatly; with 39% of UK kids envisioning a time when 'everyone' drives an EV, compared to a mere 28% in the US.

The study was carried out by Nissan Motor Co, who created a video where a group called The Department of Futures, comprised entirely of children, paid a visit to the company's headquarters to check on its progress regarding electrification targets.

Trisha Jung, the senior director of EV strategy and the leader of transformation endeavours at Nissan, offered her perspective on the different expectations the children have around the future of electric vehicles:

"Electric vehicle adoption is happening at different rates around the world. Part of the issue we're seeing here may be to do with range anxiety.

"The US, after all, is a much bigger place to drive around than the UK, hence the differences in approval among children. But as battery and range technology evolves - and it is happening at an incredible pace - we'll hopefully start to see a balancing out."

According to the research, 15% of children in both the UK and US already live in households with an electric vehicle. And among those who don't, nearly half (48%) of British children would like their parents or guardians to take the plunge and buy one. This  figure drops to 34% for American children.

If they ruled the nation and impressive 54% of British kids would enforce a law mandating electric cars, in contrast to just 41% of American youngsters.

British children also outshine their American friends in recycling, using reusable bags, and switching off plugs not in use, however, the survey uncovered that British youngsters are more baffled about what truly constitutes eco-friendly behaviour than their US counterparts (48% vs 40%).

Moreover, Americans are keener on second-hand threads, checking for eco-friendly labels, and pushing pals to go green and a higher percentage of American kids actually believe their actions can make a real difference to the environment (63% versus 48% in the UK).

Jung remarked: "The UK and the US have always had a 'special relationship', and it's interesting to compare the next generation's views on going green. The positive is that children from both sides of the pond seem engaged and invested in helping the planet in years to come."

"And while it seems the UK is pulling ahead in terms of green actions, hopefully in the near future, other countries will join in and work harder to protect our planet together."