Today, the European Commission published the results of its new Special Eurobarometer survey among EU citizens on climate change. For the overwhelming majority of European consumers, climate change is a very serious issue and presents the single most serious problem facing the world.
For this Special Eurobarometer, a total of 26,669 citizens from the 27 EU Member States were interviewed in person or online in March and April 2021 about their views regarding climate change.
These are further insights:
- 93 percent of respondents considered climate change to be a serious problem – including 78 percent who considered it to be very serious. For more than a quarter of European consumers (29 percent), the following climate and environmental issues were seen as the biggest problems in the world: Climate change (18 percent), deterioration of nature (seven percent) and health problems due to environmental pollution (four percent).
- Respondents saw national governments (63 percent), businesses and industry (58 percent) and the EU (57 percent) as responsible for structural reforms to fight climate change.
- In terms of individual climate protection measures, 64 percent of EU citizens said they already consciously make sustainable choices in their everyday lives.
- In terms of political targets, the vast majority of consumers support EU carbon neutrality by 2050 by means of the highest possible reduction in CO2 emissions (90 percent). A further 87 percent consider it important for the EU to set targets to expand the use of renewable energies.
- Respondents named increased financial support for clean energy (81 percent) and investments geared toward the green economy (75 percent) as concrete policy measures.
Frans Timmermans, European Commissioner for Climate Action and responsible for the European Green Deal, said: "Despite the pandemic and the economic hardship Europeans are facing, support for climate action remains high. Europeans recognize the long-term risks posed by the climate and biodiversity crises, and expect industry, governments and the European Union to take action. The numbers in this Eurobarometer survey serve as a rallying call for politicians and businesses. For the European Commission they provide added motivation to finalize the 'Fit for 55' legislation that we'll present later this month to make sure we reach our climate targets."
Source: EC
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