A vast majority of inhabitants of EU countries consider climate change a serious global problem. More than half (58%) believe the transition to a green sustainable economy should be accelerated. This emerges from a new Eurobarometer survey published on Thursday.
Three quarters of Europeans agree that the costs caused by climate change are much higher than the subsidies needed for a green transition. They expect climate measures to lead to innovation.
Almost everyone (88%) also believes that greenhouse gas emissions should be minimized in order to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. Nearly nine out of ten Europeans (87%) find the promotion of solar and wind energy important, as well as reducing energy consumption.
A large majority (93%) of EU citizens say they already take climate measures themselves and make sustainable choices in daily life. Asked who should tackle climate change, they believe it is the responsibility of the EU countries themselves (56%), the EU (56%), and companies and industry (53%).
More than a third of Europeans feel exposed to environmental and climate risks, mainly in Southern Europe but also in Poland and Hungary. Eighty-four percent of Europeans agree that addressing climate change and environmental issues must be a priority to improve public health, while 63% of respondents agree that adapting to the effects of climate change can yield positive results.
The European Green Deal of Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans is an important EU strategy for switching to a sustainable economy. The approval of all these environmental laws is currently already well advanced.
Recent approvals of the nature restoration law, the regulation against deforestation, and tightened laws against corporate waste and food waste ensure, according to Brussels, that biodiversity loss is also brought to a halt.