The first part of the 2021-2022 EIB Climate Survey explores people’s views on climate change in a rapidly changing world. The results from this release focus on citizens’ perceptions of climate change and the actions they expect their country to take to combat it.
- 89% of Cypriots think that climate change and its consequences are the biggest challenge for humanity in the 21st century
- 83% believe that they are more concerned about the climate emergency than their government
- 94% feel that climate change has an impact on their everyday lives
- 65% think the country will fail in drastically reducing its carbon emissions by 2050, as pledged in the Paris Agreement
- 67% are in favour of stricter government measures that impose changes on people’s behaviour (10 points higher than last year)
- 75% would welcome a tax on products and services that contribute most to global warming
- 90% say they want to replace short-distance flights by fast, low-polluting trains in collaboration with neighbouring countries
These are some of the results from the first release of the 2021-2022 Climate Survey published on 27 October by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.
Perception of the climate crisis: The country’s fight against climate change
83% of Cypriots believe that they are more concerned about the climate emergency than their government. As a consequence, they are fairly sceptical regarding their country’s capability to undergo an ambitious green transition. Only 35% think that Cyprus will succeed in drastically reducing its carbon emissions by 2050, as pledged in the Paris Agreement. The majority (65%) think that Cyprus will fail to meet its reduced carbon emission targets. 77% of people with left-leaning political views share this scepticism, which is 26 points higher than the figure for people with right-leaning political views (51%).
As a consequence, two-thirds (67%) of Cypriots are in favour of stricter government measures — similar to the ones implemented to combat the COVID-19 crisis — that would impose changes on people’s behaviour (10 points higher than last year, 57%).
Meanwhile, only 3% of Cypriots believe that global warming is not due to human activities.
The energy debate
When asked about the source of energy their country should rely on to fight global warming, the majority of Cypriots favour renewable energies (73%, 10 points above the European average of 63%) to address the climate emergency.
Cypriots overall are much less supportive of nuclear energy than other Europeans (2% vs. 12%).
Finally, Cypriots are slightly less likely to think that their country should rely on energy savings than other Europeans (10% vs. 17%). Saving energy is ranked below an increased role for natural gas (14%, 8 points above the EU average of 6%).
Most popular solutions to fight climate change among Cypriots
The majority of Cypriots (75%) would support — to a greater extent than Europeans in general (69%) — the introduction of a tax on products and services that contribute most to global warming. Even among respondents with lower incomes, 66% would be in favour of such a tax. Cypriots are also in favour of a 5-year minimum warranty on any electric or electronic product (94%) and replacing short-distance flights with fast, low-emission trains (90%). They also favour softer measures like strengthening education and increasing youth awareness of sustainable consumption (96%).
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova said: “A strong majority of Cypriots want to see stricter measures and tools, such as cleaner energy sources, deployed to help them fight climate change and protect their country from its devastating effects. Cypriots seem well aware of the danger, along with the necessary solutions and action to be taken. The EIB is ready to support and finance this action in Cyprus. In the course of COP26, we at the EIB will showcase our determination to increase our efforts and accelerate the ecological and just transition in the European Union and across the world. As the European climate bank, the role of the EIB is to finance projects focused on clean energy, energy savings, sustainable mobility solutions and innovations, and contribute towards limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 °C or less. I am very glad to see this strong support for our goals in Cyprus, a country that is an inspiring example of successful green and sustainable development, and we at the EIB are happy to have the vast majority of its citizens on our side.”
--
Download the Excel spreadsheet with the raw data for all 30 countries surveyed here. Please click here to access the EIB website that presents key findings of the EIB Climate Survey IV.
About the EIB Climate Survey
The European Investment Bank has launched the fourth edition of the EIB Climate Survey, a thorough assessment of how people feel about climate change. Conducted in partnership with market research firm BVA, the fourth edition of the EIB Climate Survey aims to inform the broader debate on attitudes and expectations in terms of climate action. More than 30 000 respondents participated in the survey between 26 August and 22 September 2021, with a representative panel for each of the 30 countries polled.
About the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is active in around 160 countries and is one of the world’s largest multilateral lenders for climate action projects. The EIB Group has recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to deliver more than 50% of EIB finance for climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the Roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have also been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since the start of 2021.
About BVA
BVA is an opinion research and consulting firm recognised as one of the most innovative market research firms in its sector. Specialised in behavioural marketing, BVA combines data science and social science to make data inspiring and bring it to life. BVA is also a member of the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN), a global network of some of the world’s leading market research and survey players, with over 40 members.