29/04/2005 - Europeans
want policy makers to consider the environment
as important as economic and social policies
For Europeans, a healthy environment is as
important to their quality of life as the
state of the economy and social factors, according
to a new Eurobarometer survey. The environmental
issues that citizens worry most about are
water pollution, man-made disasters, climate
change, air pollution and chemicals. The survey
is also the first to examine attitudes towards
the environment across the enlarged EU-25.
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said:
"This survey is proof that European citizens
care greatly about their environment, and
believe that it is intrinsically linked to
their quality of life. The results give a
clear mandate to the Commission to continue
working to deliver a high level of environmental
protection. Eurobarometer findings also confirm
that the public shares the Commission’s conviction
that a strong environmental policy can be
an engine for innovation and growth.”
Main findings
The large majority of EU citizens (88% of
respondents) believe that policymakers should
take account of environmental concerns when
developing policies in other areas such as
economy and employment. This view is expressed
most strongly in the new Member States. Asked
to rate the influence of economic, social
and environmental factors on their quality
of life, 72% of citizens said environmental
factors influenced it “very much” or “quite
a lot”. Economic factors were described in
this way by 78%, and social factors ranked
as high as environmental (72%).
The results confirm the findings of a February
2005 Eurobarometer poll on the Lisbon Agenda
which concluded that the vast majority of
people consider that environmental protection
policies are above all an incentive for innovation
(64%) and not an obstacle to economic performance
(20%). This poll also revealed that European
Union citizens give priority to protecting
the environment over economic competitiveness
(63% compared with 24% who disagree).
Citizens perceive the European Union (33%
vs. 30% in 2002) and national governments
(33% stable) as the best levels for environmental
decision-making.
The main environmental concerns of Europeans
are those that directly affect their lives.
Five priorities stand out – water pollution
(47%), man-made disasters such as oil spills
and industrial accidents (46%), climate change
and air pollution (both at 45%), and chemicals
(35%). However, there are some significant
differences between the former EU-15 and the
ten new Member States (EU-10). For example,
climate change is the number one issue in
the EU-15 and only on rank 7 in the EU-10.
Asked if they feel sufficiently informed about
environmental issues, 54% of respondents feel
well informed whereas 44% feel they are badly
informed. The two issues where respondents
feel the greatest lack of information is the
health impact of chemicals (41%) and GMOs
(40%).
When it comes to sources of environmental
information, citizens most trust environmental
associations (42% vs. 48% in 2002), followed
by scientists (32% versus 35% in 2002) and
television (27% vs. 18% in 2002). Compared
with the last survey in 2002, confidence in
media has increased significantly.
Background
The survey was carried out between 27 October
and 29 November 2004 on a sample of approximately
1,000 citizens in each Member State.
