Data from the Climate Eurobarometer show that European citizens care deeply about the fate of the climate and are calling on institutions to act.
European citizens take very seriously climate change. 85 per cent consider it a serious problem for the planet, and 47 per cent consider it the most serious problem to be addressed. This is one of the strongest findings to emerge from the latest Climate Eurobarometer. The survey was conducted between February and March on a sample of more than 26,000 people across the 27 member states of the European Union, including 1,019 in Italy.
Such an overwhelming majority can also be explained by the fact that climate change is not merely a topic discussed among institutions and scientists, but above all an experience that is part of everyday life. The Mediterranean basin is, after all, a hotspot, with temperatures rising more than 20 per cent above the global average. Among those surveyed by the Climate Eurobarometer, 38 per cent say they are highly or fairly personally exposed to wildfires, floods, pollution or extreme weather events. Among Italians the percentage is even higher: 48 per cent. The vast majority (81 per cent across Europe, 85 per cent in Italy) believe it is reasonable to take into account the likelihood of flooding, or other climate risks, when deciding where to live.
But who is best placed to tackle the ongoing climate crisis? The Climate Eurobarometer's responses put national governments first (66 per cent across Europe, 71 per cent in Italy), followed by the European Union (59 per cent across Europe, 66 per cent in Italy), by industry and business (58 and 49 per cent respectively) and by regional and local authorities (44 and 49 per cent).
The European institutions themselves set the direction with the Green Deal, the colossal green transition plan aimed at bringing the entire continent's net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, with interim targets of minus 55 per cent by 2030 and – as the Commission has just announced – 90 per cent by 2040. It is a bumpy road, one that comes at a social cost too, and which risks being pushed into the background by competitiveness and rearmament — the priorities of Ursula von der Leyen's second Commission. But it is a road in which the Union's citizens believe: those in favour amount to 81 per cent across Europe and 84 per cent in Italy.