Almost half of Spaniards are unaware of measures against climate change

The fight against climate change is one of the main concerns of Spaniards, although just over half (54%) know the measures of the Government to stop it and for most of them the most popular is to prohibit polluting vehicles from accessing the center of cities.

This is reflected in the 41st wave of the Barometer of the Royal Elcano Institute (BRIE), carried out from a thousand surveys made between March 2 and 19, only five days within the state of alarm by the coronavirus, so those responsible have preferred that this “specific issue” was not part of the questionnaire considering that the sample would be insignificant, Carmen González Enríquez, principal investigator of the Institute, commented.

As happened in previous barometers, the fight against climate change continues to top the list of priorities in Spanish foreign policy, taking into account that the response options have been the same as in other questionnaires and that the coronavirus pandemic was not included.

However, and given that the consequences of the health crisis were already visible, the Spaniards surveyed believed that investments in science and technology and alternative energies should be a priority for EU spending, a support that, according to Carmen González, “was not so great” in previous barometers.

Regarding climate change, 39% of respondents believe that the situation “is serious but not emergency” as the Government considers, and even that it is “exaggerated” when talking about this issue, and just over half – 54% – knew that the Executive has taken some measure or proposal to fight against this problem.

For most of the interviewees, the best known measure to curb climate change has been adopted by the municipalities and is to prohibit the most polluting vehicles from circulating in the center of the cities, a decision that, according to the BRIE, seven out of ten Spaniards support, ahead of those who opt to invest more in renewable energies or to promote or encourage electric vehicles.

As for individual responsibility in the emission of greenhouse gases, very few interviewees take into account their role in this issue and only 6% had ever changed their vacation plan to avoid emissions from airplanes, one of the largest sources of pollution.

Also very few (4%) are those who consider the factor of remoteness when thinking about the products they buy and the gases emitted by their transport and regarding the consumption of meat, only 5% responded that they had stopped eating it to reduce the volume of gases emitted by animals.

On this occasion in the BRIE has also asked about other issues such as the self-esteem of the Spaniards, the prestige of China and other countries, the preferred states as allies or the preferences for the next EU budget.

Source: The Vanguard