A public opinion survey has found that nine out of 10 Portuguese people consider climate change to be a “very serious problem”.
A total of 1,012 face-to-face interviews were conducted in Portugal between April 9 and 22 this year, with 87% of participants describing climate change as a “very serious problem” and 11% as a “relatively serious issue”. Only a tiny fraction (1%) of people do not believe climate change is real.
Data shows that the percentage of Portuguese who consider climate change very serious was above the EU average of 79%, based on the answers of 27,655 citizens from the 28 Member States interviewed. The survey also found that 14% of EU citizens believe it is a “relatively serious” subject, while 6% reject it.
Also interesting is the fact that 23% of the EU people queried say climate change is the most serious problem that the world is facing, more than the 19% in Portugal.
But are the Portuguese doing anything to help counteract climate change? Nearly three quarters of those interviewed in Portugal (74%) said they were, more than the EU average of 60%.
Among the main measures taken by Portuguese to reduce their environmental footprint is an attempt to reduce the amount of waste produced and increase their recycling (76%). Nearly half of respondents (42%) also said they are using more eco-friendly home appliances which use less electricity.
The survey also found that the crushing majority of Portuguese (96% and 95%) are in favour of the government establishing goals to increase the use of renewable energies and supporting the improvement of the country’s energy effiency.
Meantime, Lusa news agency reports that the European Commission (EC) has released a statement in which it doubles down on its environmental commitments, which it says will soon be presented at the United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit, to be held on September 23 in New York.
As Maros Sefvocic, Vice-president of the EU’s Energy Union, said in a press conference in Brussels recently: “The fact that July this year was the warmest month ever registered makes it clear that we need to act.
“All summer long – and I would even say all year long – there has been tragic news about how the world is changing dramatically,” he said, referring to “examples from Brazil, from France, but also from southern Europe”.
Sefvocic also backed UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who recently said that more effort should be put into carrying out plans instead of announcing them.
He also revealed that the EU, which will be represented at the UN summit by the President of the European Council Donald Tusk, will highlight its goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, an objective established by 24 member states, including Portugal.
What’s certain is that at a time when some world leaders continue to deny the evidence that backs scientists’ warnings, at least the Portuguese people seem to be well aware of the threat that the planet is facing.
