Green NGOs are employing increasingly radical methods in their quest to awareness on climate change. Their tactics include campaigning against childbearing, using extreme language and slogans, attacking world-famous artworks, and blocking road traffic. Despite the activists’ claims that their strident actions serve the fight against climate change, their controversial performances are divisive. But what opinion do young Hungarians take on this matter?
A representative survey of 1,000 people, conducted jointly by the Youth Research Institute and the Climate Policy Institute, sought to identify how young people aged 15-29 perceive green movements’ campaigning. Young people were asked to say how right or wrong they think today’s topical forms of protest are, as well as how effective or ineffective these are in protecting the environment and the climate.
One such novel form of protest is the defacement of works by renowned artists. Over the past six months, activists affiliated with Just Stop Oil, Letzte Generation and Ultima Generatione have smeared world-famous masterpieces by artists such as Vermeer, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Raphael, Leonardo, and Botticelli with materials including paint, tomato juice, and potato mash. These actions have divided international public opinion; young Hungarians seemingly also refuse to identify with this method, with 69 percent saying that it is neither right nor effective.
Green movements readily employ radical language and slogans, often arguing that their exaggerations are meant to stir up the public or draw attention to the grave situation of the environment. Critics of climate alarmism, however, point out that constant fearmongering can have the opposite effect in the long run and may lead to anxiety and inaction. Without intending to do justice on this matter, we asked for young people’s opinions on this issue. In the survey, we tested a slogan used by Extinction Rebellion at a climate protest in fall 2021, which read “Is this Planet Death?” Almost two thirds (64 percent) of young people said that the use of this slogan or similar alternatives is both wrong and ineffective.
There are a number of organizations campaigning against childbearing to reduce the ecological footprint of humanity. Examples include the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, Population Matters, Conceivable Future, and Birth Strike. In Hungary, too, a string of journalists and well-known people (e.g. Márton Vági, Róbert Winkler, and Pumped Gabó) have spoken out in favor of birth control. Proponents of antinatalism include philosophers (e.g. David Benatar), politicians (e.g. the U.S. Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), and prominent media outlets (e.g. The Guardian). This view, although increasingly prevalent, still does not have majority support, certainly not among Hungarian youth: almost two thirds (63 percent) of young people in the country disapprove of campaigns aimed at lowering the human birth rate, and roughly the same number (64 percent) consider such efforts ineffective in terms of environmental protection.
Question: Do you think the following actions to protect our environment are rather right or wrong?
Base: entire sample (N=1,000)
Fully right; Rather right; Rather wrong; Fully wrong; DK; NA
planting trees; picking litter; blocking busy roads by protesters; campaigning to reduce the human birth rate; using slogans like “Is this Planet Death?”; defacing famous paintings and artworks with various materials
Question: And how effective do you think the following steps actually are in the fight to protect the environment?
Base: entire sample (N=1,000)
Fully effective; Rather effective; Rather ineffective; Fully ineffective; DK; NA
planting trees; picking litter; blocking busy roads by protesters; campaigning to reduce the human birth rate; using slogans like “Is this Planet Death?”; defacing famous paintings and artworks with various materials
In recent months, there have been a number of incidents in the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy which saw climate protesters blocking busy roads with the purpose of staging a demonstration. In some cases, these demonstrations resulted in deaths due to protesters denying the right of way even from fire squads and ambulances. As for young Hungarians, a narrow majority (57 percent) disagreed with demonstrators blocking busy roads due to the lack of action against climate change. Young people, however, appeared most accommodating on this issue, with 37 percent of them approving of this way of voicing an opinion and 30 percent claiming that the method is effective. At the same time, the majority (52 percent) said that it is neither right nor effective.
Litter picking and tree planting is a very different but equally fashionable approach that has been gaining ground among green movements. The research shows that young people are much more supportive of these actions: 88 percent approve of tree planting and 76 believe that it is effective. In the case of litter picking, the figures were 87 and 77 percent respectively, also reflecting overwhelmingly positive attitudes.
In conclusion, the research suggests that young people’s opinions on extreme climate campaigning are scathing, despite the fact that radical green movements largely focus on appealing to and mobilizing the ‘rebellious’ young generation. The survey reflects that, contrary to the popular belief, young people are far more likely to support environmental efforts taking the form of concrete action than publicity stunts. The findings show that for young Hungarians, taking action in support of a particular cause is more important than protesting against something – at the level of words, at least.
Cover photo: Letzte Generation Oesterreich / Reuters
