A poll finds almost half of Europeans believe climate change is the next global challenge, while 88% think renewable energy should be a larger part of the economy
A poll, commissioned by the European Parliament and Commission jointly, asked 26,530 people across all 27 EU states about issues, from citizenship to renewable energy.
An immense 88% of people said they wanted renewable energy to be a larger share of European GDP.
EU at 21.3% renewable energy sources
As of 2020, the EU had a 21.3% share of energy from renewable sources – 1.3% over the target set by the bloc. The overall aim of the EU is to make 32% of energy consumption from renewable sources, by 2030.
The three most mentioned challenges were:
- Social inequalities (36%),
- Unemployment (32%),
- And then migration issues (31%).
It also found that 49% of people believe that climate change is the main global challenge for the future of the EU, with the majority supporting the basic tenets of the European Green Deal.
“We should stop exporting pollution”
Announcing some additions to the European Green Deal in November, 2021, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “If we expect more ambitious climate and environmental policies from partners, we should stop exporting pollution and supporting deforestation ourselves.”
The IPCC report, written over eight years by over 700 scientists, found that it take 20-30 years for global temperatures to stabilise, even if carbon emission targets were met.
The data suggests that unless there is an immense change in policy-implementation that creates meaningful decreases of greenhouse gases, globally limiting an ongoing rise in temperature “to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.”
91% believe climate connected to health
In addition to that knowledge, there is an extensive body of evidence that a changing climate directly shapes how people live – down to their likelihood of surviving COVID. In some places, air pollution increases the likelihood of severe illness, while in others, changing rivers can poison Indigenous communities.
When the survey narrowed down on age groups, it confirmed that 91% of younger generations believe that fighting climate change is directly linked to their own health and well-being.
It seems that age is not a deal-breaking factor in this perception, as 84% of those aged over 55 agree. A further 80% of all people believe that it is important to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent, by 2050.
