Majority of Barcelona residents open to reducing car use

70.7% of people in the Barcelona metropolitan area say that they are open to reducing their use of private cars.

At the same time, 68.2% say they are willing to install solar panels, while 85.7% say they are “very” or “fairly” concerned about climate change.

These are some of the results of the latest survey by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and the Institute Metròpoli published on Tuesday. The survey was carried out between May and June 2022 and had 1,200 respondents.

21% of those interviewed say they no longer take planes or have reduced their air travel, while 16.5% do not have a private vehicle or use it less.

Between 6% and 7% of those surveyed have switched to a 100% renewable electricity company or have purchased a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle, while 4.4% have solar panels installed in their homes.

Income and housing types

The survey points out differences in the ecological transition according to income, type of housing, and tenure.

Almost three in ten people living in detached single-family homes, 28.4%, and one in ten, 11.2%, of those living in terraced houses, say they have solar panels, a much higher rate than those living in apartments, as only 3.1% of those do.

Among people with lower incomes, 5.3% have switched to a 100% renewable company, a figure that rises to 12.5% ​​in households with higher incomes.

The main obstacles that interviewees argue for switching to a 100% renewable company or installing solar panels are cost and lack of information, while difficulties in reaching agreements with neighbors in the building also plays a role.

They say the main incentives are the reduction in electricity bills and reduction of emissions. However, 74.2% are unaware of public aid for installing solar panels, and among those who are aware of them, many consider them insufficient.

Natural gas

Regarding energy sources for heating their homes, more than half of metropolitan households use natural gas, 52.3%, followed by electricity with 42.7%.

Air conditioning is more common than not, with 64.3% having such a system installed.

With the results of a previous survey, AMB concludes that energy poverty during the summer has increased in the population living in areas susceptible to extreme heat, which includes around 520,000 people in the metropolitan area as a whole.

Around one quarter, 24.2%, of homes in the metropolitan area cannot afford to keep their homes at an adequate temperature during the summer. In areas with high vulnerability, this figure rises to 30.7%.

More than 40% of respondents answered that they always applied environmental and saving habits. For example, 80% stated that they always turn on the washing machine full, and 65.2% always turn off the tap while applying soap, among others.

In the metropolitan area, the average monthly cost of the last bill in 2022 - a year characterized by high energy prices - was €68.60 per household of two people, therefore €32.40 per person.