“Listening to citizens’ attitudes is key for us to make sure we address their concerns, while leaving no one behind”
The European Investment Bank has launched the second edition of the EIB climate survey. The findings are particularly relevant at a time when climate is one of the top priorities in the EU’s agenda, and following the EIB’s adoption of a new, fossil-fuel free energy lending policy and a new climate roadmap.
Conducted in partnership with market research firm BVA, the survey aims to inform the broader debate on citizens’ attitudes and expectations in terms of climate action in the European Union, the United States and China.
Young Europeans and climate change
The EIB climate survey reveals that environmental migration is seen as a strong reality in Europe, where 82% of respondents anticipate climate change will force people to leave their country of residence to escape extreme weather conditions. At the same time, 24% of Europeans also foresee moving to another country because of climate change. This number is significantly higher among the younger generations, where 41% are seriously considering the option of moving abroad. An important divide can also be seen between European countries: as a comparison, 33% of Austrians aged 15-29 years anticipate moving to another country, a percentage that goes up to 51% among young Spaniards.
Climate change seen as bigger threat in Northern Europe
Interestingly, a geographical difference exists between Southern and Northern European countries. Southern Europeans see unemployment as the biggest problem facing their respective countries: 72% of Spaniards and 69% of Italians put it among their top three challenges. Northern European countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria actually see the climate crisis as the biggest threat. This contrast in opinion between Southern and Northern European countries is also reflected in the perceived impact of climate change: people in Mediterranean countries report a higher impact on their everyday lives, with figures of 94% for Italy and 87% for Spain, while the share is 63% in Denmark and 66% in Sweden. Overall, 82% of Europeans report that climate change has an impact on their everyday lives, a perception that goes up to 98% in China but down to 76% in the United States.
Chinese most optimistic climate change is reversible
According to the findings, Europeans remain more sceptical than the Chinese when it comes to fighting climate change: 59% of Europeans see it as reversible, which is 21 points lower than in China (80%) but higher than in the United States (54%). When it comes to how people perceive the impact of their individual actions on fighting climate change, 69% of Europeans think their actions can make a difference, which stands halfway between China’s 72% and the United States’ 65%.
Climate change more feared by the Chinese than by EU or US citizens
The survey results confirm that a fear of climate change is widely shared across Europe: 47% of Europeans rank it as the biggest challenge in their lives, closely followed by access to healthcare and health services (39%) and unemployment (39%). In comparison, Americans rank climate change (39%) behind access to healthcare and health services (45%) and 73% of Chinese people think that climate change is the biggest challenge faced by society, far ahead of access to healthcare and health services (47%) and financial crisis (33%).
With COP25 hosted in Madrid, Spain, we took the opportunity to interview locals and hear what they think about climate change
Find out more about attitudes towards climate change in the following countries
40% of the French think it is too late to reverse climate change
Overall, the survey results confirm that a fear of climate change is widely shared among the French population: 83% feel that climate change is having an impact on their everyday lives.
Despite French respondents’ awareness about the impacts of climate change, France is one of the most sceptical countries in Europe when it comes to the potential to combat it. Only 53% of French people see it as being reversible, which is 6 points lower than the European mean. On a local level, a difference of 10 points can be observed between the Île-de-France region, where 57% of people believe it is possible to reverse climate change, and the Occitanie region, where this number goes down to 47%.
59% of Germans rank climate change as the number 1 challenge in their lives
The survey results confirm that Germans see climate change as the biggest challenge for their country: 59% put climate change in their top three challenges, with the next biggest issue being large-scale migration (43%).
On the consequences of climate change, Germans feel more strongly than other Europeans concerning its correlation with migration: 31% already see climate change as playing a key role in migration, which is 5 points higher than the European mean (26%). Germans – especially the younger generation – believe climate change may force them to migrate in the future: 44% of 15-29 year-olds anticipate moving to another country in the future.
69% of the Italians believe climate change can be reversed
The survey results confirm that there is optimism in Italy that the planet can be saved. Whilst 86% of the Italian public largely acknowledges that humans have played a role in causing climate change, 69% believe it can still be reversed, which is 10 points higher than the European mean (59%). In fact, Italians go even further: 73% see themselves as part of the solution for solving this crisis.
Regarding the impacts of climate change, there is a strong consensus among Italian people (94%) that it has had an impact on every ocean and every continent over the past few decades. The melting of glaciers (47%), air pollution (40% – 8 points higher than the European mean) and rising temperatures (39%), stand out as the three most worrying signs of climate change for Italians. Furthermore, they believe that these effects on the environment and air will continue to be felt in the future, with 80% agreeing that even if greenhouse gas emissions cease, their consequences will continue to be felt for centuries.
41% of Poles see climate change as being irreversible
Despite 86% of Polish respondents acknowledging the impacts of climate change, Poland is one of the most sceptical countries in Europe when it comes to the potential to combat it. Up to 41% of Poles see it as irreversible, which is 8 points higher than the European mean. More worryingly, the younger generation is the most likely to think that the situation is beyond saving: 45% of those aged 15 to 29 say climate change is irreversible, compared to 41% of those aged 30 to 64, and even 33% of the 65+ age group.
That being said, 75% of Poles still think that their personal actions can make a difference. The perceived ability to combat climate change is characterised by a gender gap in Poland, with women being much more confident than men: 83% of Polish women think their actions can make a difference in the fight against climate change, compared to only 67% of men.
68% of all Spaniards believe that climate change can be reversed
The survey results show that despite Spaniards being highly concerned about the issue, most are optimistic about winning the battle. Whilst 89% of the Spanish public largely acknowledges that humans have played a role in causing climate change, 68% also believe that it can be reversed, and up to 80% even see themselves as part of the solution for solving this crisis.
Despite their general optimism on solving the climate crisis, Spaniards are more likely than Europeans in general to think that they will need to migrate in the future, both within and outside Spain, as a result of climate change. 36% believe they will have to move to a colder country or region in the future, 10 points higher than the European average. This is seen as a particularly serious issue for the younger generation, with up to 60% believing they will need to move to colder areas of the country or abroad because of climate change.
Swedes are among the most optimistic in Europe that climate change can be reversed
The survey results show that, despite not feeling the consequences today, Swedish people are worried about the impact of climate change on future generations: 81% agree that their children will feel its consequences in their future everyday lives. Additionally, there is a strong consensus among Swedes (80%) that even if greenhouse gas emissions cease, the consequences will continue to be felt for centuries.
Against this backdrop, there is nonetheless optimism in Sweden that the planet can be saved: 68% are convinced that it is still possible to reverse the impacts of climate change, which is 9 points higher than the European mean.
Contact
Thomas Froimovici
European Investment Bank
98-100, boulevard Konrad Adenauer
L-2950 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
t.froimovici@eib.org
+352 4379 - 83249
+352 691284262