Abstract
The electricity sector in the 21st century should be associated with renewable energy sources (RES), which the majority of society currently equates with solar photovoltaics, wind power, and hydroelectricity, with this energy being used mainly in households. Households consume only 20% of energy, with the remainder used in various sectors of the national economy. In these sectors, the possibilities of using renewable energy sources should be sought. Many experts express the opinion that myths about renewable energy sources exist only “in our minds and opinions, that we formed years ago”, mainly under pressure from the decreasing number of supporters of conventional energy sources. Currently, we observe much greater possibilities of using renewable energy sources globally, and all forecasts suggest that—by 2050—the economy, transport, and industry may become almost emission-free and rely on RES. Of course, we cannot present renewable energy sources only in terms of superlatives, because they also involve many unknowns and myths which we will present in the article. Considering the complexity of factors influencing the involvement of young people in shaping the socio-economic reality, a group of people aged between 18 and 40 was selected for the study. The aim of this study was to identify the attitudes of young inhabitants of south-eastern Poland regarding the issues of climate change and renewable energy, and to identify the level of acceptance for changes in Poland’s energy mix. The conducted research shows that the studied group of people appreciated the importance of climate change and considered the anthropogenic impact on this phenomenon to be of key importance. The perception of renewable energy was positive, and respondents saw the solution to the problems of the energy deficit in increasing the use of renewable energy sources. Respondents also showed significant support for nuclear energy and expected government support programs for activities related to energy conservation. The survey shall be repeated on a random sample at the time when the energy price changes caused by the transformation of the energy mix occur—i.e., around 2025.
Highlights
Many people believe that access to domestic fossil fuels guarantees the country’s economic development and low electricity prices
Research has shown that climate change is a greater concern with the society of Southern Europe and young people, which does not coincide with the opinion of Polish youth, of whom 34% say that climate change is a threat to humans, in relation to 48% of the older generation of Poles. These results show that 19% of Poles feel anxious about climate change, 56% are concerned about the phenomenon, and 49% state that the process is the result of human activities
As a result of the research, answers to the research questions and theses posed were formulated as follows: 1. In the surveyed group of people, there is a belief that the observed climate changes are a serious, contemporary problem, even for three-quarters of the respondents it is one of the most important problems caused by people
Summary
Many people believe that access to domestic fossil fuels guarantees the country’s economic development and low electricity prices. The possibility of using these resources is an argument for not developing energy from renewable sources, which are considered a more expensive alternative. Oftentimes, politicians, miners, industry, and energy workers challenge scientific arguments by criticizing the evidence of climate change. For Energies 2022, 15, 45 energy workers challenge scientific arguments by criticizing the evidence of cli2mofa2te0 change. For a large part of the Polish society, the most important factor in selecting an electricity source is the economic argument [1]. Nd the use of green energy based on renewable sources is interpSorectietdy ianscre“ansaintigolnyael xpreidssee”s. GHeobwyevperor,mitoitsinimgpaocrtitvanittietso rbeelaarteidn mtointhdetheme tiwssoio-wn aoyf rgerleaetniohnosuhsipe ,gaassecsli.mate change affects the population, and the population contributes to thiIsncchreaansginegbythperoumseotoinf greancetiwviatbielse reenlaetregdytoistohneeemofistshioenoobfjegcrteiveenshoouf stehegaEsUes.climate policIyn[c4r–e7a]s.inAgt tthhee suasme eoftimreen,etwheabglreowenienrggyshiasreonoef roefntehweaobblejeecntievregsyoinf tthhee EenUercgliymmatiex preoqliuciyre[s4–a7d]d.
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