2 May 2023 – A new survey suggests that Europeans, including British people, agree that climate action is necessary and support it. However, they are less supportive of actions that would require them to change their lifestyle.
Research by polling company YouGov has questioned Europeans, including Brits, about climate action by governments and individuals. Apart from the UK, the survey also included responses from Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Spain and France.
In each country, between 1,000 and 2,000 people were surveyed. The questions asked ranged from their feelings about climate change, their support for governments taking action on climate change and individual actions they were prepared to take.
And in all seven countries, the respondents support governments and themselves taking action, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their lifestyle. The more an action impacts on their lifestyle, the less support for it there is.
Majority Of Respondents Worried About Climate Change
The YouGov survey has shown that the majority of people in all seven countries are worried about climate change and the impact it has on our world.
The most worried are the Italians with 81%, followed by the French with 79% and the Spanish with 77%. The least worried are the Swedes with 60%. Germany and the UK are also in the bottom three with 63% and 65% respectively.
The majority of people in all countries also agree that climate change is being caused by human activity. Less than one in five people across most of the seven countries said that climate change was not due to human activity.
The number of climate change deniers, those who believe climate change doesn’t exist, is small across the surveyed countries. No more than 5% have these beliefs.
When it comes to combating climate change, over 75% in all countries believe that by working together the fight against climate change would be more effective. But in terms of concrete climate actions to take, there was less consensus.
Support For Climate Action Depends On Impact
What the data does show is that most people in all the surveyed countries support actions to tackle climate change, either through government legislation or personal lifestyle changes, as long as they don’t impact too much on their lifestyle.
Among the personal choices most respondents would support is only eating fruit and vegetables that are in season and never buying single-use plastic products. With over half of Brits supporting both these changes.
Equally, 77% of Britsh and 60% of Spanish would grow more plants or are already doing so to help tackle climate change.
However, less than half of people in all seven countries support actions such as switching to an electric car, paying to make their home more energy efficient and forking out more for flights.
Not using a car anymore and instead only walking, cycling or using public transport also didn’t get much support, with less than a quarter of Brits supporting this measure.
Similarly, eating less meat and dairy products was supported by less than 45% in all countries. There is even less support, well below 20%, for big lifestyle changes such as becoming vegan or having less children.
This new data shows that most people are willing to make changes to combat climate change, as long as the sacrifices are not too radical, or it won’t mean spending more money. And it’s a similar story when it comes to supporting government interventions.
Government legislation that has wide support (over 50%), includes commitment to plant more trees in green spaces, subsidies to make homes more energy efficient, more and tougher regulation on product packaging and a ban on single-use plastic.
Although less so, people were still supportive of the introduction of a frequent flyer levy. But less than half of all respondents supported a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars, a tax on flights that would increase prices by 50% and an increase in fuel duty.
Brits More Supporting Of Climate Change Actions Than Germans
Overall, the british people are more in support of individual and governmental actions to combat climate change than the Germans.
On questions like never buying single-use plastic, government subsidies for home efficiency works, tougher regulations on product packaging and a ban on single-use plastic, the Brits are the most supportive of all countries.
While Germany is among the least supportive countries on these measures, if not the least supportive.
For example, the Germans are quite a bit less supportive of eating fruit and veg only when it’s in season, whereas the UK is the most supportive.
However, Germans are more willing to only walk, cycle or use public transport than the Brits. And they are also the most supportive of the introduction of a frequent flyer levy and increasing prices of flight tickets by 50% through taxation.
But the results of the survey have clearly shown that most people, no matter where they are from, are less likely to support climate actions, if they have to change their lifestyle too much for it.
