Most people across six European countries accept that the climate is changing and want governments to act, but they are far less willing to pay a high personal price for it, according to a new YouGov poll reported by the Guardian. The findings suggest that public support for climate policy is real but conditional, depending heavily on how much individuals are asked to give up.
In every one of the six countries surveyed, a majority of respondents said the climate is changing. Support was lowest in Germany, at 69 percent, and highest in France, at 80 percent. Denial of the phenomenon itself was rare, with only between 1 and 4 percent of people rejecting the idea that it is happening at all. A further 14 to 20 percent accepted that the climate is changing but did not believe humans are the main cause, a group that policymakers may find harder to persuade.
The poll also points to a clear preference in the kinds of measures people will accept. Respondents backed tree planting and taxes on emissions, while opposing limits on air travel and higher fuel levies. Most people, in other words, favored action that does not directly restrict their daily habits or raise the cost of getting around. The overall message from respondents was that they want action soon, as long as the sacrifices involved remain modest.
The article was published as a live blog, and later updates to the story were not captured in the reporting available here. The results offer a snapshot of European opinion at the time of the survey, highlighting a tension that governments have long faced: broad agreement on the problem can coexist with resistance to the specific policies needed to solve it.
Credit. Based on reporting by Jon Henley for The Guardian. Is this your work? Write to us.
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