Brussels (Brussels Morning) More than half of EU citizens don’t believe their governments will succeed in tackling the climate crisis, despite widespread public support for tougher environmental policies, a study published by the European Investment Bank (EIB) reveals.
The study’s authors interviewed 27,700 respondents in all 27 EU member states, with 58% saying their country would not succeed in drastically reducing its CO2 emissions by 2050. At the same time, the majority of Europeans view climate crisis as the biggest challenge facing humanity this century.
According to the poll, 70% of EU citizens would support measures which would introduce changes to people’s behaviour, in order to help curb greenhouse emissions. As much as 87% of respondents would favour phasing out short-haul flights with train services, and 69% said they would back a tax on the products most responsible for pollution.
Some 63% of respondents say their government should focus on renewable energy sources, 12% say their country should focus on nuclear power, while only 6% support natural gas as a transition source of energy.
The anti-pollution measure receiving the greatest support in the EU was the introduction of a mandatory five-year warranty on any electric or electronic product, a move favoured by 91% of respondents. In addition, 88% of respondents said education should be strengthened and children should be made more aware of sustainable consumption.
Commenting on the poll, EIB vice president Ambroise Fayolle said the results send a clear message to governments ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow, scheduled to begin on Sunday. “In the run-up to COP26, these demands from the public are a clear mandate for us to strengthen our efforts and accelerate the green transition”, Fayolle declared.