The majority of Regit’s motorists want an outright ban on highly polluting vehicles, such as 4x4s and SUVs, to stop them from entering well-populated areas like town and city centres.
59% of those surveyed would support a ban, whilst 39% would support the mandatory introduction of Clean Air Zones in every town and city in the UK, meaning you could only drive through if you had a low or zero-emission vehicle.
Energy giants such as BP and Shell are becoming increasingly disliked, likely because of high fuel and energy prices as well as a failure to invest in new technologies. 65% say they view energy giants less favourably than 12 months ago.
In the first half of 2022, BP invested just 2.5% of its profits into renewable energy compared to 31% in oil and gas projects. 40% of those surveyed said BP and other energy companies should be investing at least half of their profits into renewable energy.
1 in 3 motorists are more environmentally conscious than they were 12 months ago and 46% have decreased their annual mileage in order to reduce their own carbon footprint. 40% would also buy a greener vehicle than they would’ve chosen just 12 months ago if they were in the market for a new car.
Not only that, but 43% of those surveyed support the reasoning behind the Just Stop Oil protests although just 13% agree with the methods that are being used to demonstrate.
Regit’s founder and director, Chris Green, said: “Our motorists are clearly becoming more environmentally conscious and are making increasing numbers of decisions with their carbon footprint in mind.
“Electric cars are being sold in record numbers but there are still barriers to sale, such as price and infrastructure, that are preventing millions of motorists adopting zero-emission vehicles. This means the milestone date of 2030, when the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered vehicles will be banned, looks too ambitious. Having said that, even those that cannot or don’t want to adopt electric are proactively choosing less environmentally damaging models and prioritising low emissions in numbers we haven’t seen before.
“This drive to be more sustainable is backed up by wider findings with almost half of our motorists supporting the reasoning behind the Just Stop Oil protests. As a result of data like this, it will be interesting to hear if government policy on the exploration of fossil fuels - as well as a more aggressive rollout of clean air zones across the UK and the potential banning of highly polluting vehicles altogether - will shift with the mood of the public .”
As ever, thanks for taking part in our latest survey and congratulations to Tony who collected the £100 Amazon voucher.
