Climate change
Research shows public not concerned over climate crisis
Published
2 months agoon

- A sizeable majority of Europeans and Americans believe that climate change is happening. In all nine countries surveyed, an overwhelming majority of respondents say that the climate is probably or definitely changing – ranging from 83 per cent in the US to 95 per cent in Germany.
- Outright climate change denial is scarce in all of the countries surveyed. The USA and Sweden have the largest group of people who either doubt climate change or are convinced it is not happening, and, even here, it only comprises just over 10 per cent of those surveyed.
- However, over a third (35%) of those surveyed in the nine countries attribute climate change to a balance of natural and human processes – with this feeling most pronounced in France (44%), the Czech Republic (39%) and the US (38%). The plurality view among respondents is that it is caused “mainly by human activity”.
- A significant group of ‘soft’ attribution sceptics believe that, contrary to the scientific consensus, climate change is caused equally by human activities and natural processes: these constituencies range from 17 per cent in Spain to 44 per cent in France. When added to the “hard” attribution sceptics, who don’t believe human activity is a contributing factor to climate change, these sceptics together make up the majority in France, Poland, the Czech Republic and the USA.
- Majorities believe that climate change will have very negative consequences for life on earth in Spain (65%), Germany (64%), the UK (60%), Sweden (57%), the Czech Republic (56%) and Italy (51%). However, there is a significant minority of “impact sceptics” who believe the negative consequences will be outweighed by the positive - ranging from 17 per cent in the Czech Republic to 34 per cent in France. There is also a group in the middle who don’t see global warming as harmless, but think that negative consequences will also be balanced by positive ones. This “middle group” ranges from 12 per cent in Spain to 43 per cent in France.
- Most people don’t think their own lives will be strongly affected by climate change in the next fifteen years. Only in Italy, Germany and France do more than a quarter of people think their lives will be strongly disrupted by climate change by 2035 if no additional action is taken. While the prevailing view is that there will be some change to their lives, a considerable minority believe their lives won’t change at all as a result of unchecked climate change – with the largest group in the Czech Republic (26%) followed by Sweden (19%), the USA and Poland (18%), Germany (16%) and the UK (15%).
- Age makes a difference to views on climate change, but only in certain countries. Overall, younger people tend to be more likely to expect negative impacts of climate change on their lives by 2035 if nothing is done to address the issues. This trend is particularly strong in Germany; where negative impacts are expected by 36 per cent of 18-34 year olds (compared to 30% of 55- 74 year olds), Italy; (46% of 18-34 year olds compared to 33% of 55-74-year olds), Spain; (43% of 18-34 year olds compared to 32% of 55-74 year olds) and the UK; (36% of 18-34 year olds compared to 22% of 55-74 year olds).
- Imposing higher taxes on flights is only seen as the best option to reduce emissions from flights by a minority - ranging from 18 per cent in Spain to 30 per cent in the US and 36 per cent per cent in the UK. An outright ban on internal flights within countries is even less popular, enjoying most support in France (14%) and Germany (14%). The most popular policy for reducing emissions from plane travel is improving the train and bus networks, which is chosen as the best policy by a majority of respondents in Spain, Italy and Poland.
- Majorities in most countries are willing to persuade their friends and family to behave in a more climate-friendly way – with only 11 per cent in Italy and 18 per cent in Spain not willing to do this. However, nearly 40 per cent of people in the Czech Republic, France, the US and the UK would not contemplate this idea at all.
- There is widespread support for switching to a green energy firm to provide household energy. However, France and the US have large minorities (42% and 39% respectively) who would not consider a switch to green energy. This compares to just 14 per cent in Italy and 20 per cent in Spain who would not consider a change to green energy.
- Majorities in Europe are willing to reduce their meat consumption, but figures vary widely. Only a quarter of people in Italy and Germany are not willing to reduce their meat consumption, compared to 58 per cent of people in the Czech Republic, 50 per cent people in the US, and around 40 per cent in the Spain, the UK, Sweden and Poland.
You may like
-
‘Right to disconnect’ should be an EU-wide fundamental right, MEPs say
-
Scottish government comment on efforts to stay in Erasmus
-
Leaders agree on new ‘dark red’ zones for high-risk COVID areas
-
EAPM: The blood is the life – key work on blood cancers needed with respect to the upcoming European Beating Cancer Plan
-
COVID-19 vaccinations: More solidarity and transparency needed
-
EU leaders weigh travel curbs over virus variant fears
Climate change
President von der Leyen delivers speech at the One Planet Summit
Published
2 weeks agoon
January 12, 2021
During the 'One Planet' summit which was held on 11 January in Paris, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) delivered a speech on sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and the fight against climate change, stressing that these are different sides of the same coin. To illustrate the EU's support for global co-operation and local action, it pledged to support and sponsor the Africa-led Great Green Wall flagship initiative which aims to tackle the land degradation and desertification, building on the EU's long-standing investment in this initiative.
She also announced that EU research and innovation on health and biodiversity will be a priority as part of a global co-operative and coordination effort. With the Green Deal for Europe, the EU is at the forefront of international action in favour of climate and biodiversity. President von der Leyen highlighted the role of nature and sustainable agriculture in achieving the goal of the Green Deal for Europe, which is to make Europe the first climate neutral continent of by 2050.
Last May, the Commission published the Biodiversity and Farm-to-Table strategies, which set out the EU's ambitious actions and commitments to halt biodiversity loss in Europe and in the world, to transform European agriculture into sustainable and organic agriculture and to support farmers in this transition. The “One Planet” summit, co-organized by France, the United Nations and the World Bank, began with a commitment by leaders in favor of biodiversity, which President von der Leyen has already supported during the session of the United Nations General Assembly last September. The summit sought to build momentum for COP15 on biodiversity and COP26 on climate this year.
Follow the speech by videoconference on EbS.
Climate change
Infographic: Timeline of climate change negotiations
Published
3 months agoon
November 6, 2020
The EU has been a key player in talks led by the United Nations and in 2015 committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.
Climate change
US formally quits Paris climate deal amid election uncertainty
Published
3 months agoon
November 4, 2020
But the outcome of the tight US election contest will determine for how long. Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected.
The US still remains a party to the UNFCCC. Espinosa said the body will be “ready to assist the US in any effort in order to rejoin the Paris Agreement”.
Trump first announced his intention to withdraw the US from the pact in June 2017, arguing it would undermine the country’s economy.
The Trump administration formally served notice of the withdrawal to the United Nations on November 4, 2019, which took one year to take effect.
The departure makes the US the only country of 197 signatories to have withdrawn from the agreement, hashed out in 2015.
‘Lost opportunity’
Current and former climate diplomats said the task of curbing global warming to safe levels would be tougher without the financial and diplomatic might of the US.
“This will be a lost opportunity for a collective global fight against climate change,” said Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale, chair of the African Group of Negotiators in global climate talks.
A US exit would also create a “significant shortfall” in global climate finances, Gahouma-Bekale said, pointing to an Obama-era pledge to contribute $3bn to a fund to help vulnerable countries tackle climate change, of which only $1bn was delivered.
“The challenge to close the global ambition gap becomes much, much harder in the short term,” said Thom Woodroofe, a former diplomat in UN climate talks, now a senior adviser at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
However, other major emitters have doubled down on climate action even without guarantees the US will follow suit. China, Japan and South Korea have all pledged in recent weeks to become carbon neutral – a commitment already made by the European Union.
Those pledges will help drive the huge low-carbon investments needed to curb climate change. If the US were to re-enter the Paris accord, it would give those efforts “a massive shot in the arm”, Woodroofe said.
European and US investors with a collective $30 trillion in assets on Wednesday urged the country to quickly rejoin the Paris Agreement and warned the country risked falling behind in the global race to build a low-carbon economy.
Scientists say the world must cut emissions sharply this decade in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming.
The Rhodium Group said in 2020, the US will be at about 21 percent below 2005 levels. It added that under a second Trump administration, it expects US emissions would increase by more than 30 percent through 2035 from 2019 levels.
Obama’s White House had pledged to cut US emissions to 26-28 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels under the Paris deal.
Biden is broadly expected to ramp up those goals if elected. He has promised to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 under a sweeping $2 trillion plan to transform the economy.

‘Right to disconnect’ should be an EU-wide fundamental right, MEPs say

Scottish government comment on efforts to stay in Erasmus

Leaders agree on new ‘dark red’ zones for high-risk COVID areas

EAPM: The blood is the life – key work on blood cancers needed with respect to the upcoming European Beating Cancer Plan

Ukraine should prove to be an agricultural superpower in a post-COVID world

Lagarde calls for swift ratification of Next Generation EU

Bank embraces blockchain to facilitate Belt and Road trade

#EBA - Supervisor says the EU banking sector entered the crisis with solid capital positions and improved asset quality

The war in #Libya - a Russian movie reveals who is spreading death and terror

First president of #Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 80th birthday and his role in international relations

EU solidarity in action: €211 million to Italy to repair the damage of the harsh weather conditions in autumn 2019

PKK’s involvement in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict would jeopardize European security

Leaders agree on new ‘dark red’ zones for high-risk COVID areas

Lagarde calls for swift ratification of Next Generation EU

Von der Leyen praises Joe Biden's message of healing

European Commission launches New European Bauhaus

International observers declare Kazakh elections 'free and fair'

EU reaches agreement to purchase 300 million additional doses of BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine
Trending
-
Central African Republic (CAR)5 days ago
Tensions in Central Africa: Forcible recruitment, killings and looting among rebels' confessions
-
Frontpage5 days ago
New US president: How EU-US relations could improve
-
coronavirus4 days ago
Coronavirus response: €45 million to support Opolskie region in Poland in fighting the pandemic
-
Economy4 days ago
European Commission launches New European Bauhaus
-
coronavirus5 days ago
EU lagging on vaccination efforts
-
Spain3 days ago
Spanish government abandoned Canary Islands in migration crisis
-
US5 days ago
Xiaomi in US crosshairs over military links
-
Russia2 days ago
New Biden administration expected to focus on US-Russia relations