Special Eurobarometer European Commission SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER 365 Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment SUMMARY Fieldwork: April May 2011 Special Eurobarometer 365 / Wave 75.2 TNS Opinion & Social Publication:June 2011 This survey was requested by the Directorate-General for the Environment and coordinated by the Directorate-General for Communication ( Research and Speechwriting Unit). http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission. The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors.
Special Eurobarometer 365 ATTITUDES OF EUROPEAN CITIZENS TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT Conducted by TNS Opinion & Social at the request of Directorate-General for the Environment Survey co-ordinated by Directorate-General Communication TNS Opinion & Social Avenue Herrmann Debroux, 40 1160 Brussels Belgium
TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION...4 MAIN FINDINGS...7 1. THE ENVIRONMENT IS STILL CONSIDERED HIGHLY IMPORTANT BY EUROPEANS...9 2. EUROPEANS SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AS DIVERSE RANGE OF ISSUES11 2.1 General associations with the environment... 11 2.2 Europeans are most likely to be concerned about man-made disasters and water pollution... 13 3. EUROPEANS SUPPORT EUROPEAN ACTIONS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.15 3.1 Respondents prefer decisions to be made jointly within the EU... 15 3.2 Respondents widely support EU-wide environmental policy... 17 3.3 Europeans see fines and incentives as the most effective ways of tackling environmental problems... 18 4. MOST EUROPEANS HAVE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ATTITUDES...20 4.1 Europeans position the state of the environment just as important as social factors... 20 4.2 Europeans link the efficient use of natural resources and the protection of the environment to economic growth... 21 4.3 Europeans see themselves as playing a role in protecting the environment... 23 5. GREEN ATTITUDES TEND TO TRANSLATE INTO GREEN BEHAVIOUR...25 5.1 Most Europeans do more and more actions for environmental reasons... 25 5.2 Intentions vs. Actions: Green consumption... 27 6. INFORMATION RELATIVE DEFICIT ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES...28 6.1 Europeans consider themselves well informed about environmental issues... 28 6.2 but a slight majority has difficulties to easily identify environmentally friendly products... 30 ANNEXES Technical specifications Questionnaire Tables
INTRODUCTION The environment has long been a topic of global interest; but, in 2011 it has moved close to the top of the European agenda.increased pressures on natural resources have led to higher prices in several areas. Rising costs, in association with the global financial crisis, has led people to consider the importance of energy and other resources.natural and man-made disasters have led to more focus and discussion on matters such as global warming and its impacts on water and soil. Food crises and continued rising costs have prompted debate on the nature of farming as well as the global water situation and fuel costs. In addition, expanding levels of industry have prompted discussion on pollution and excessive resource use. Disasters such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have strongly featured in the headlines.the media have discussed the extent to which human factors may have contributed to natural disasters. The European context has frequently come to the fore in the last couple of years. 2010 was named as the International Year of Biodiversity. This highlighted a wide range of specific issues at both a public and policy level. Given that the topic is linked to farming and production, it led to further discussion on the way that human activity impacts upon the environment. Europe 2020is the EU's growth strategy for the coming decade, pushing the EU towards becoming a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Under the Europe 2020 strategythe flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe points the way towards sustainable growth, supporting a shift towards a low-resource use, low-carbon economy. The Europe 2020 targets are ambitious, but news-worthy, and so they are frequently communicated to citizens. The Internet has prompted an explosion in environmental discussions. A number of highprofile news sites have been set up across the continent, dedicated to the discussion of environmental matters. Documentary films about the environment are becoming increasingly high-profile. Social media and citizen journalism on the topic has also become extremely popular. As the world is now more aware than ever that a crisis is being faced in terms of the environment, it has become a popular topic of discussion. The environmentalissue, then, is large and fragmented. Covering as it does areas which touch on so many other aspects of life economy, energy, policy, quality of life, safety, resources and the media it is important to get a feel for what citizens understand by the concept. We also need to know how they feel about the problems or crises and how they are being dealt with. This survey focuses on the European perception of the concept of the environment, as well as breaking down how individual aspects of the topic are viewed. A number of factors were included in the questionnaire. Respondents were asked to consider whether the environment is important to them in general terms. They were also asked to state what comes to mind when the topic was raised. Levels of trust were assessed, as well as the link between the environment and social and economic concerns. Respondents own actions in the face of environmental change were assessed, as well as their views on how the situation is being dealt with by various groups. There were also invited to share their views on a series of questions.
Analysis was carried out on a EuropeanUnionMemberState level and on a socio-demographic level. The current survey was carried out by TNS Opinion & Social network in the 27 MemberStates of the European Union between the 13 th of April and the 8 th of May. 26,825 respondents were interviewed face-to-face at their homes in their national languages at the request of DG for the Environment. The methodology used is that of Eurobarometer surveys as carried out by the Directorate General for Communication ( Research and Political Analysis Unit) 1.. A technical note on the manner in which interviews were conducted by the Institutes within the TNS Opinion & Social network is appended as an annex to this report.also included are the interview methods and confidence intervals 2. ************** The Eurobarometer web site can be consulted at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm We would like to take the opportunity to thank all the respondents across the continent who have given of their time to take part in this survey. Without their active participation, this study would simply not have been possible. 1 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm 2 The results tables are included in the annex. It should be noted that the total of the percentages in the tables of this report may exceed 100% when the respondent has the possibility of giving several answers to the question.
Note In this summary report, the countries are represented by their official abbreviations. The abbreviations used in this summary report correspond to: ABREVIATIONS EU27 European Union - 27 Member States BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK Belgium Bulgaria CzechRepublic Denmark Germany Estonia Ireland Greece Spain France Italy Republic of Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Hungary Malta The Netherlands Austria Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Slovakia Finland Sweden United Kingdom
MAIN FINDINGS Europeans consider the environment to be of great importance On the whole, 95% of EU citizens feel that protecting the environment is important to them personally (-1 point compared to 2007). 58% consider it to bevery important. Diverse range of issues are seen as environmental problems When EU citizens were asked to consider what is meant by the term the environment a wide range of associations were identified including protection of nature, the state of the environment for the next generation and man-made disasters. The biggest effects of environmental change included a diverse range of threatening issues man-made disasters (42%, +3 points compared to 2007), water pollution (41%, -1 point) and air pollution (36%, - 4 points). Most consider that action to protect the environment should be carried out at a European level 64% of people believe that changes should be made at a European level. 81% support environmentally-focused legislation as a way to help solve the problem (- 1 point compared to 2007). 79% believe that the EU should help to support non-eu countries to protect the environment (-1 point compared to 2007). 89% think that more funding should be allocated to support protecting the environment. 36% of people think that fines for offenders is the best way of protecting the environment, followed by greater incentives for those who are environmentallyfriendly, more information about environmental issues, and more efficient use of natural resources (26% each). Europeans tend to consider that citizens should have an environmentally-friendly attitude 77% of respondents believe that the environment has an impact on their quality of life (a slight decrease compared to 2007 when 80% shared that view). Social factors (75%, -1 point) and economic factors (85%, + 1 point) were also seen as influential here. 77% of people believe that protection of the environment can lead to economic growth (up from 66% in 2009), while 83% of people believe that better use of resources can do the same. 69% of people believe that citizens are currently not doing enough to help the environment. Alongside this, 87% (+1 point compared to 2007) believe protection of the environment to be, at least in part, the responsibility of citizens. Environmentally-friendly attitudes lead to environmentally-friendly behaviour, in most instances 60% of respondents stated that they carry out 1-3 environmentally-friendly actions per month (- 4 points compared to 2007), with recycling being the most common. A further 28% carry out 4-6 environmentally friendly actions per month(+ 5 points). In general terms, citizens are more engaged than before in environmentally-friendly actions: the latest figures are 5 or 6 percentage points above the 2007 levels for each type of action referred to. 72% of Europeans (compared to 75% in 2007) are willing to pay more for products which are specifically environmentally friendly.
There is a feeling that more could be done to provide Europeans with information about the environment 60% of people feel they are either well-informed or fairly well-informed about the environment (up from 55% in 2007); 38% feel that more information could be given. 48% of people feel that environmentally-friendly products could be better labeled (compared to 42% in 2007), with 47% stating that the labelling of such products is adequate.
1. THE ENVIRONMENT IS STILL CONSIDERED HIGHLY IMPORTANT BY EUROPEANS When asked to consider how important the environment is to respondents is on a personal level, the response is overwhelmingly positive 3. 95% of EU27 citizens questioned believe that protecting the environment is important to them personally, with 58% of these stating that it is very important. In comparison to the last Eurobarometer survey on the environment,which was carried out in autumn 2007 4, overall levels of "importance"are stable falling from 96% to 95%. 3 QB1 How important is protecting the environment to you personally? 4 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_295_en.pdf
In every instance, except in Austria and Finland, the number of people who believe protecting the environment is very important to them outweighs the number of respondents who believe that it is fairly important. 89% of respondents in Cyprus responded that protecting the environment is very important to them personally, followed by 86% of respondentsin Malta, 83% in Sweden and 80% in Slovenia. Cyprus and Maltahave the highest levels of important responses, with 100% of respondents indicating this. Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia and Sweden achieve important scores of 98%. The lowest score comes from Austria, with 90% of respondents indicating that protecting the environment is a matter of personal importance.
2. EUROPEANS SEE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AS DIVERSE RANGE OF ISSUES This section of the survey deals with the concept of the term: the environment and in particular the associations European citizens have with the word environment. 2.1 General associations with the environment The first question asked respondents to consider what comes to their mind when people talk about "the environment" as an initial response, and then the issues which are called to mind following this 5. An experiment was conducted during the survey in order to explore the influence of changes in the exact wording of the items on the results. Among the list of possible answers for the question, half of the sample (split A) was read protecting nature while the other half (split B) was read protecting biodiversity. QB2 When people talk about "the environment", which of the following do you think of first? And then? Analysis of Split A shows that the most frequently mentioned issues are the protection of nature (using the term "nature" instead of "biodiversity"), with 47% of people thinking about this when asked to consider what was comes to mind when hearing the term "the environment." Next, with 41% of responses, came the state of the environment that the next generation will inherit, followed by climate change with 40%. Pollution in towns and cities - more of a locally-focused response - drew 39%, alongside the widely-reported issue of man-made disasters such as oil spills and industrial accidents. 5 QB2. When people talk about "the environment", which of the following do you think of first? And then?
In sharp contrast to this, in split B protecting biodiversity - essentially the same response as protecting nature - drew the lowest level of responses, with 20% of the sample choosing this answer category. Apart from this, the results were similar to those in split A, with protection of the environment for the next generation drawing the highest level of recognition (45%) followed by pollution in towns and cities (42%), man-made disasters such as oil spills, and climate change (41% each) both following. In this split, climate change dropped down below town/city pollution and ranked alongside man-made disasters, whereas in split A it was higher than both of these. It is worth noting that the term "biodiversity" - which is used extensively in policy workconcerning the environment - is not very recognisable, whereas "nature" generates more of a reaction in responses.
2.2 Europeans are most likely to be concerned about man-made disasters and water pollution In this section we look at the environmental issues that are of main concern to European citizens 6. The most popular responses relate to where human activity impacts directly on the environment on a global level. Man-made disasters returned the highest number of responses (42%) followed by water pollution (41%), indicating an overall concern about how industry affects the environment a concern which is almost certainly fuelled by global media stories, although (in the latter instance) one which can also apply on a personal level to people across the Member States who live in industrialised areas. 6 QB3 From the following list, please pick the five main environmental issues that you are worried about. (ROTATE MAX. 5 ANSWERS)
The global issue of air pollution produced a score of 36%. The similarly broad issue of climate change and the more personal issue of the impact upon our health of chemicals used in everyday products both gave scores of 34%. Depletion of resources and growing waste both returned scores of 33%, followed by natural disasters (31%) and agricultural pollution (25%). The lowest response was given to noise pollution (9%), with slightly higher responses given to the impact of current transport modes on the environment (14%) and then urban pollution (18%). The emotive issues of GM products in food and our consumption habits both produced scores of 19%. It is interesting to note the huge decrease of 23 percentage points of climate change since 2007, from 57% to 34%. In conclusion, most citizens in EU Member States do consider global environmental concerns to be more worrying than those which have an immediate impact upon their lives and climate changes seems to have relatively less impact in people s mind than it used to be in 2007.
3. EUROPEANS SUPPORT EUROPEAN ACTIONS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT The three questions in this section relate to whether or not decisions concerning environmental protection should be made and action taken at an EU administrative level and which actions would be the most effective in tackling environmental problems. 3.1 Respondents prefer decisions to be made jointly within the EU A majority of respondents (64%) believed that decisions concerning environmental protection should be made at an EU-wide level, whereas 32% stated that decisions should be made at national level 7. Majorities in nearly all Member States except the UK, Finland and Austria believe that decisions concerning the protection of the environment should be made jointly within the EU. The strongest support for joint decision-making can was found in Cyprus (81%) and Spain (78%). 7 QB16 When it comes to protecting the environment, do you think that decisions should be made by the (NATIONALITY) Government or made jointly within the EU?
Looking at socio-demographic results, one can say that the age and the education of the respondents do play a role. Joint EU decision-making gains considerably more support among young respondents(70% support among those aged 15-24 compared to 58% among those aged 55+). 70% of respondents who went to school until the age of 20 or laterthought that such decisions should be made jointly within the EU. This can be compared to a response level of 56% among those who finished education before the age of 16.
3.2 Respondents widely support EU-wide environmental policy Respondents expressed strong agreement with the following three actionsconcerning environmental protection at European Union level 8 : 81% of Europeans believed that European environmental legislation is necessary for protecting the environment in their countries. 79% said that the EU should help non-eu countries in improving their environmental standards. 89% of respondents agreed that EU funding should be allocated more to support environmentally friendly activities and developments. 42% were in total agreement. The first two questions were previously asked in November - December 2007. Results observed are stable at the EU level. We can conclude that the great majority of EU citizens believe that more should be done at an administrative level to fundenvironmentallyfriendly activities. Citizens also believe that it is the responsibility of the EU to help to support countries outside of it in these matters. This reinforces the view that most EU citizens support Europe-wide action on the environment.it also reinforces the notion that the problem is global, and that action needs to be taken by Member States outside of their own borders. 8 QB19. Please tell me whether you totally agree, tend to agree, tend to disagree or totally disagree with each of the following statements. 1. European environmental legislation is necessary for protecting the environment in (OUR COUNTRY); 2. The EU should assist non-eu countries to improve their environmental standards; 3. EU funding should be allocated more to support environmentally friendly activities and developments
3.3 Europeans see fines and incentives as the most effective ways of tackling environmental problems Introducing heavier fines for offenders (in relation to environmental damage) was seen as the most effective way of tackling environmental problems (36% of Europeans chose this option) 9. This was followed by ensuring higherfinancial incentives to organisations and citizens who protect the environment; using natural resources more efficiently; and providing more information about environmental issues (each 26%). 25% thought thatensuring better enforcement of environmental regulations would be the most effective solution, and 23% felt that introducing stricter environmental legislation would be most effective. The least popular scenario was increasing the taxation on environmentally damaging activities (15%). Citizens in Bulgaria (48%), the Czech Republic (46%), and Slovakia (41%), along with those in Spain and Portugal (both 44%) supported the proposal for higher fines on those who negatively affect the environment at above average levels. Betterrewards for those who follow legislation gained most support in the Netherlands (52%), Sweden (49%), Denmark (45%) and Finland (45%). More efficient use of natural resources is the first option selected in Luxembourg (44%) and in France (43%). This is also mentioned by a large proportion of respondents in the Netherlands (37%) and in Belgium (34%). It is interesting to note that both the most popular and least popular ways of tackling environmental problemswere measures with a financial impact. Although EU citizens tend to think that penalties should be given to those who break the rules, and that those who protect the environment should be rewarded, the option of increased taxation is far less popular. We can conclude that most EU citizens support the work of the EU in the area of environmental protection both within and outside its borders and jurisdiction. Willingness to improve the way in which EU citizens react to legislation (through financial penalties and rewards) is also seen as important. Citizens want to see the EU help to affect environmental change, and they believe that all inhabitants should also be directly involved not just the policy makers. 9 QB18 In your opinion, which of the following would be the most effective way(s) of tackling environmental problems? (MAX. 2 ANSWERS)
4. MOST EUROPEANS HAVE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ATTITUDES For these questions, respondents were asked to assess their own attitudes and actions in relation to the environment. They were also asked to describe what motivates their own environmental actions. 4.1 Europeans position the state of the environment just as important as socialfactors A majority of Europeans think that economic factors, social factors and environmental factors influence their quality of life 10. Indeed, three-quarters or more say that it influences it very much or quite a lot. The economic factors are more influential in citizens quality of life (85%) than the state of the environment (77%) and social factors (75%). Their influence is stable compared the last time this question was asked in 2007. There is a slight drop of the state of the environment response, by 3 percentage points (80% in 2007). There is only a small variation of 1 percentage point for the economic factors (+1) and the social factors (-1). The effect of the state of the environment on quality of life is felt most strongly in Greece, Cyprus and Malta, where 54% of respondents answered that it influences it very much. Latvia (27%), Germany (27%), Belgium and Portugal (25% both), alongsidethe Netherlandsand Lithuania (24% both), returned the highest number of not much answers to this question. The impact of economic factors on quality of life is felt very much in Greece (76%), Bulgaria (72%), Cyprus (71%) and Hungary (69%),while this is seen as less of a concern in Germany and Luxembourg. In those two countries, 21% and 20% of the citizens answer that it is not very impactful. 10 QB9. In your opinion, to what extent do the following factors influence your "quality of life"? 1. State of the environment; 2. Economic factors; 3. Social factors
Social factors are felt strongly in Denmark (67%) and Sweden (56%) as well as in Hungary (55%) these factors are far less evident in Germany where 35% of the respondents say that it is not very impactful. The majority of the answers to these statements were moderate there is only some influence, or not much influence, on EU citizens quality of life. However, there is a majority which agrees in relation to this. In conclusion, most citizens of the EU Member States do see the environment and its related social and economic factors as having some impact upon the quality of their lives. 4.2 Europeans link the efficient use of natural resources and the protection of the environment to economic growth Overall, a large majority of Europeans agree that the efficient use of natural resources (83%) and the protection of the environment (77%) can boost economic growth in the EU 11. The idea that environmental protection can boost economic growth has clearly gained increased support since 2009, when 66% of Europeans agreed with the statement 12.This represents an increase of 11 percentage points. QB10. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 11 QB10. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 1. The protection of the environment can boost economic growth in the EU; 2. The efficient use of natural resources can boost economic growth in the EU 12 Eurobarometer 72.1, Europeans attitudes towards climate change, August September 2009, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_322_en.pdf
Most agreementrelating to the protection of the environmentcame from a number of Member States where recession and other economic difficulties have been noticed in recent years. These include Cyprus (91%), Greece (89%) and Italy (87%). However, we cannot say that this is purely linked to economics, as the lowest levels of agreement were found in Estonia (64%), Lithuania (66%) and Latvia (67%). The second statement, concerning the efficient use of natural resources and its impact on economic growth also gained high levels of agreement. This can be noticed particularly incyprus (93%), Greece (92%), Slovakia and Bulgaria (91% each). There is a link betweenresource efficiency and economic growth which seems stronger than the broader concept of environmental protection. Those who went to school until the age of 20 or later are more likely than who those stopped education before the age of 16 to say that the efficient use of natural resources can boost economic growth in the EU (87% vs. 77%). There is also a significant difference between those who are living alone and respondents who are living in a household composed of 3 or more than 3 persons (78% vs. 86%).
4.3 Europeans see themselves as playing a role in protecting the environment The section deals with the opinion of Europeans about the amount of action being taken by governments, local authorities, corporations and industry, as well as by individuals about how to use natural resources efficiently 13. It also assesses how they feel that they themselves (as well as corporations) are behaving to help protect the environment directly 14. 79% of respondents felt that corporations and industry are not doing enough to help the environment. 14% stated that they are doing the right amount and 2% stated that they are currently doing too much. 69% felt that citizens are not doing enough (with 25% of answers stating that citizens are doing the right amount and again 2% stating that too much is being done). This continues into the perception of national government actions (72% not enough, 20% the right amount, 2% too much) and the actions of the EU (63% not enough, 22% the right amount, 3% too much). It is interesting to note that the actions at EU level receive a lower level of responses indicating that they are not doing enough compared to other groups that respondents were asked to consider. Most positive responses went to the actions of citizens themselves. Responses from Greece (92%), Slovenia and Spain (89% each) indicated sharply that their citizens do not feel as if enough is being done by corporations and industry. Regarding the amount done by citizens themselves, the highest levels of agreement that not enough is being done came from Bulgaria (87%) and the Netherlands (83%).The same was felt in Latvia (81%), Lithuania and Greece (both 80%). 13 QB17. In your opinion, are each of the following currently doing too much, doing about the right amount, or not doing enough to use natural resources efficiently? 1. Corporations and industry; 2. Citizens themselves; 3. The (NATIONALITY) Government; 4. The European Union 14 QB14. Please tell me whether you totally agree, tend to agree, tend to disagree or totally disagree with each of the following statements. 1. As an individual, you can play a role in protecting the environment in (OUR COUNTRY); 2. The big polluters (corporations and industry) should be mainly responsible for protecting the environment; 3. Environmental problems have a direct effect on your daily life
Respondents in Greece (90%), Latvia (85%), Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia (all 84%) answered that their national governments are not doing enough to help the situation.in Cyprus (35%), Luxembourg (34%) and Denmark (33%) a significant proportion of respondents said that the right amount is being done. Austria (76%), Sweden (75%), France (74%) and Greece (74%) stated that the EU is not doing enough to help the situation. Some support for the EU s actions came from Cyprus (54%), Slovakia (46%), Poland (40%), the Czech Republic (39%) and Hungary (38%). A large majority of Europeans believe that their actions can have a direct impact on the protection of the environment. 87%of Europeans think that they can play a role in protecting the environment in their countries. 76% agree that environmental problems have a direct effect on their daily lives. These results are stable, with no significant variance, since 2007. 91% of respondents believe that the big polluters (corporations and industry) should be held mainly responsible for protecting the environment. Here we see an illustration of the difference between individual and citizens, and also between what s currently being done and what needs to be done. The strongest level of agreement is in relation to questions about whether or not industry and corporations need to be held responsible for environmental action.additionally, the levels of agreement relating to the fact that it is citizens responsibility were only a little lower. Although some feel as if citizens are currently working towards helping to protect the environment, the number of respondents who feel as if not enough is being done is considerably higher. The subsequent question proved that EU citizens do feel as if it is their own responsibility to help to protect the environment. We can conclude that EU citizens are aware of their own responsibilities, and believe that people like them should be doing more.
5. GREEN ATTITUDES TEND TO TRANSLATE INTO GREEN BEHAVIOUR 5.1 Most Europeans do more and more actions for environmental reasons On average, European citizens have performed 2.9 actions for environmental reasons in the last month 15. There is a slight increase of the numbers of measures taken of +0.3. In 2007, there were 2.6 actions performed. The most popular action stated was the separation of waste for recycling, which 66% of respondents said that they did (+7 percentage points). This was followed by cutting down on energy consumption turning off lights and heating, etc. and cutting down water consumption, which returned positive answers of 53% and 43% respectively. The lowest level of positive responses was given to the purchase of environmentally-friendly goods (labelled as such) with 17% of respondents stating that they had done this.this was followed by using cars less, which 20% of respondents said they had done. 60% of those that responded had carried out 1-3 actions in the last month (-4 points compared to 2007), 28% 4-6 actions (+5 points), and 5% 7-9 actions (+2 points). Only 6% (-3 points) stated that they had carried out no specifically environmentally-friendly actions. Most environmental actions per month are carried out in Sweden (with an average of 4.1 per person in the last month) Luxembourg (3.9), Malta (3.7), Germany, Belgium and Austria (all 3.5). A high score from the Netherlands of 3.3 (among other Member States with the same average) indicates a positive attitude in Benelux alongside other parts of the EU. 15 QB12. Have you done any of the following during the past month for environmental reasons? (MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)
In conclusion, most of the respondents polled stated that they have carried out some form of environmental action in the last month. Broken down into type of action, other than recycling which in many EU Member States has been the focus of government activity and communication, and which in some places is enforced by a fine many of the actions are related to personal resource use. In many Member States this carries a cost saving alongside an environmental benefit. Europeans who are performing actions for environment reasons are more likely to be: Aged 25 or older. On average, respondents aged 15-24 have taken 2.4 measures in the past month (vs. 2.9 for those aged 25-39, 3.1 for those aged 40-54 and 3 for those aged 55 and over). Highly educated. Respondents who went to school until the age of 20 or later have taken, on average, 3.4 measures. Those who stopped education before the age of 15 have only taken 2.7. Managers. Managers have taken on average 3.5 actions whereas students and unemployed have only taken 2.5 and 2.6 measures respectively. Well-informed about the environment. Those who say that they are well-informed have performed 3.2 actions, whereas those who are badly informed have taken 2.6 measures. It is interesting to note that both political orientation and the size of the households in which the respondents is living have no impact on this.
5.2 Intentions vs. Actions: Green consumption Here respondents were asked to consider whether or not they would be willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly products 16. The total level of agreement is 72%, with 23% of respondents stating that they are in total agreement with the statement. Of the 25% who disagreed, 8% did so totally. This is a slight drop of 3 percentage points compared to 2007 (75%). Highest levels of agreement came from Sweden (89%), Luxembourg (84%), Malta, Cyprus (each 82%) and Denmark (81%) which indicates patterns of intention in these areas mirrored elsewhere in the survey. Lowest levels of agreement came from Portugal (59%), Spain (60%), Hungary, Slovakia (both 62%), Bulgaria and Estonia (both 63%). We can conclude that most EU citizens are currently carrying out actions which are environmentally friendly, for specific environmental reasons. Rather than just doing what needs to be done, a large proportion carry out a number of actions per month. In terms of intention, a large proportion of respondents is willing to spend more for the sake of the environment. Overall, there is a relative stability in the number of actions and on the intentions to adopt a green behaviour since 2007. 16 QB11 Please tell me whether you totally agree, tend to agree, tend to disagree or totally disagree with the following statement: You are ready to buy environmentally friendly products even if they cost a little bit more.
6. INFORMATION RELATIVE DEFICIT ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 6.1 Europeans consider themselves well informed about environmental issues Respondents were asked to describe their level of agreement with the statement that they consider themselves well-informed on environmental issues 17. Although the percentage of those who agreed is in the majority 60% it is approaching more of an even balance. Only 8% of respondents consider themselves to be very well-informed on environmental issues. Of the 38% who say they are badly-informed on environmental issues, 7% consider themselves to be very badly informed and 31% fairly badly informed. However, more people are in agreement than at the time the last survey was carried out.then, 55% of people felt that they were adequately informed on environmental issues. 17 QB4 In general, do you consider that you are very well, fairly well, fairly badly or very badly informed about environmental issues?
There is a sharp difference in the responses at a Member State level. Sweden, Denmark and the UK all stated that there is a decent amount of information available to them with the results at 81%, 80% and 76% respectively. Agreement was as low as 46% in Portugal and in Spain, 47% in Romania, 48% in Bulgaria and Czech Republic, 52% in Greece and 54% in Slovakia. There is a consensus among the majority of EU Member State citizens that they are wellinformed on environmental issues. However, a significant percentage of those polled feel that more could be done in terms of available information.
The level of information is finally clearly linked to the level of education. A majority of respondents who stopped education before the age of 15 say that they are badly informed (51%). In comparison, 70% of the respondents with higher levels of education say that they are wellinformed. The Internet seems to be an effective source of information: 66% of daily web users are well-informed about environmental issues. This figure falls to only 49% for those who are not using the Internet. 6.2 but a slight majority has difficulties to easily identify environmentally friendly products Respondents were asked to comment on whether or not they thought that labeling on products allowed them to tell effectively whether or not products are genuinely environmentally friendly 18. 47% of respondents answered yes, with 10% stating that this is certainly the case. 48% of respondents indicated that products are not appropriately labeled, and 15% consider that this is certainly not the case. In 2007, 52% of the Europeans said that it was easy to identify environmentally friendly products. This leads to a decrease of 5 percentage points in the current survey. Finland gave the highest number of positive responses to this question, with 64% of those polled indicating that products are labeled appropriately. Denmark were next with 63%, followed by Italy and Austria (both 60%), and Sweden (58%) indicating that there is a general trend towards this in the Nordic countries alongside other Member States. The picture is very different in Bulgaria (22%), Romania and Lithuania (both 28%). The split here is almost even, which indicates a significant degree of doubt about whether or not products are correctly labeled in order to allow citizens to know that they are environmentally friendly. 18 QB20 Do you think that current labels on products allow you to identify those products that are genuinely environmentally friendly?