Poll reveals split in citizens' climate awareness

2612, 11/09/08

A new survey of European citizens' attitudes to climate change has revealed a sharp divide between those that feel well-informed about the issue and those that do not.  The Eurobarometer poll was published by the European commission on Thursday.

Just over half of the 30,000 people surveyed said they feel informed about the causes and consequences of climate change.  But 41 per cent of respondents described themselves as not very well-informed or not at all informed.  At a press conference to present the survey, Italian socialist MEP Guido Sacconi said the finding "clearly indicates that we have to think about initiatives and measures to spread this knowledge more widely".

A very large majority of Europeans - 75 per cent - believe that global warming is a "very serious problem", according to the survey.  But 58 per cent say the EU is not currently doing enough to tackle the issue.

EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas rejected the notion that the bloc's climate policies were inadequate to address the challenge.  "I'm glad that people are keeping the pressure on all the EU institutions to do more," he said.  In order to meet citizens' expectations, "it is essential that the European parliament and council approve the commission's climate and energy proposals" (EED 23/01/08 http://www.endseuropedaily.com/24681).

Follow-up: See Eurobarometer survey http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_300_full_en.pdf

and commission press release http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1314.

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