Climate Change Survey Results

IEEE PES can and should be more vocal about the innovative work engineers are doing to progress climate solutions.
Some Key Takeaways

• 72% view an outdated electric grid presents the biggest energy-related challenge, followed by government mandates and net-zero goals being misaligned with the current energy infrastructure realities.
• 50% worry that it may be difficult to reverse climate change on a global scale but 60% believe that technology is the key to addressing it.
• More than a third has little understanding of the role that engineers play in addressing climate change.
• Even so, respondents trust engineers the most to find solutions to achieving a clean energy future, more so than researchers, environmental advocacy groups, utility companies, or government agencies.
• 79% believe that engineers have the knowledge and skill set to research and develop new forms of renewables.

What does that mean for IEEE and PES?

• Most respondents view engineers positively and acknowledge that they play a key role in addressing climate change, but do not understand what that role is. Educating the public about their role would be beneficial.
• A large majority – 82% – expressed an interest in learning more about what engineers are doing, or planning to do, to address climate change.
• Messages that provide concrete examples of what engineers do to address climate change (e.g., constructing green buildings, monitoring environmental conditions, reducing electronic waste, etc.) resonate the most.
• Engineers are most often described with positive terms such as “innovative,” “creative,” and “smart.”

When it comes to describing our energy future, the word “sustainable” resonates the most, followed by “cleaner.” Words like “smart,” “modernized,” and “engineered” resonate less.