Europeans Back Climate Action at Low Personal Cost — SkimNews
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- YouGov’s six-country poll found 69%-80% believed the climate was changing; just 1%-4% denied it, while 14%-20% believed it was changing but not because of human activity.
- International cooperation drew support from 79%-89% of respondents across Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, who said countries would combat the climate crisis more effectively by working together.
- EU-level decision-making was the preferred level for climate action among 50%-54% of respondents in France, Italy and Germany, 61% in Denmark and 64% in Spain.
- France saw the share worried about the climate crisis rise from 74% in April to 83% by mid-August, while the share classified as very worried climbed from 28% to a record 42% in August and held there the following month.
- Respondents across the six countries were cautiously optimistic: 45%-63% said it was not too late to avert the worst effects, but only with a drastic change in approach; 11%-24% said it was already too late.
- Current measures were considered enough to prevent the most serious consequences by only 9%-20% of respondents, while tree planting, energy-efficiency subsidies, single-use-plastic bans and taxes on big emitters all drew support.
- Costly personal sacrifices drew opposition to higher fuel duty, limits on meat and dairy, taxes on air fares and bans on new petrol and diesel cars; low-cost personal steps drew support, while exclusively secondhand shopping and paying more for flights did not.
Why it matters: For climate policymakers, the poll reveals a hard limit on popular measures: tree planting and efficiency subsidies attract support, but fuel duties, limits on meat and dairy and air-fare taxes draw opposition. Yet 79%-89% favor international cooperation, and just 9%-20% think current measures can prevent the worst effects.
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