Young People's Green Practices in Global South by 2025

A survey by the Capgemini Research Institute and UNICEF shows that young people aged 16-24 in Global South possess considerable knowledge of green practices or environmentally friendly skills.

In their survey, green skills are defined as things young people learn to help the Earth and protect the environment. These skills help people conserve nature, stop pollution, and use resources wisely.

The following are the complete percentages of young people in developing countries who say they have knowledge of environmentally friendly skills:

1. Recycling/waste reduction: 70% respondents
2. Energy conservation: 64% respondents
3. Water conservation: 60% respondents
4. Eco-friendly consumer habits: 50% respondents
5. Climate change: 46% respondents
6. Sustainable energy: 44% respondents
7. Sustainable agriculture: 43% respondents
8. Sustainable transportation: 41% respondents
9. Environmental policy: 35% respondents
10. Climate technologies: 31% respondents
11. Data analysis: 27% respondents
12. Sustainable design: 25% respondents.

“Global South youth are most knowledgeable about waste reduction and energy and water conservation,” stated the Capgemini Research Institute in its report.

Based on these results, the Capgemini Research Institute says that 7 out of 10 young people have knowledge of recycling and waste reduction. On the other hand, less than one-third of Global South youth are knowledgeable about:

• Climate technologies, which is technology used to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, and climate modeling tools;
• Data analysis, which is the skill of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental data to make informed decisions about sustainability practices; and
• Sustainable design, which is the skill of incorporating sustainability into the design principles of buildings and products.

The Capgemini Research Institute and UNICEF survey took place in February-March 2025. It involved 4,245 respondents aged 16-24 from 14 developing countries: Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, and China.