Residents of the grand duchy are more likely to say they have personally taken action to combat climate change than the EU and Greater Region average, according to a recent poll for the European Commission. Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Residents of the grand duchy are more likely to say they have personally taken action to combat climate change than the EU and Greater Region average, according to a recent poll for the European Commission. Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

A Eurobarometer poll has found that 82% of people in Luxembourg say they have personally taken action to fight climate change over the past six months. This is the highest figure for any country in the European Union.

More than three-quarters (77%) of people in the European Union consider climate change to be a “very serious problem,” said a  published in July 2023. People in Luxembourg are even more convinced of the severity of the climate crisis, with 84% of respondents saying it’s a “very serious” issue.

The fieldwork for the poll was carried out in May 2023, which included 507 face-to-face interviews in Luxembourg. Here are a few takeaways from the survey.

82% have personally fought climate change

More than eight out of 10 respondents in Luxembourg (82%) say they have “personally” taken action to fight climate change in the last six months. This is 19 percentage points higher than the EU average (63%) and the highest of any country in the European Union.

After Luxembourg, the inhabitants of three Nordic countries--Finland (81%), Sweden (81%) and Denmark (76%)--are the most likely in the EU to have personally taken recent action to fight climate change.

60% in Luxembourg buy and eat organic food

Amongst potential actions taken to fight climate change, people in Luxembourg are also much more likely than the average EU citizen to buy and eat more organic food: 60% in the grand duchy said they do so, compared to 28% for the EU average. This is the highest figure amongst all the EU countries.

56% of respondents in Slovenia said they eat and buy more organic food, followed by 52% in Sweden and 47% in Denmark.

and climate change, notes the United Nations. More than half of survey respondents in Luxembourg (53%) also said they buy and eat less meat, which is 22 percentage points higher than the EU average (31%).

A conducted by the European Investment Bank earlier this year found that 77% of respondents in Luxembourg would be willing to pay “slightly more” for local, sustainably produced food.

Most likely to eat organic or buy less meat in Greater Region

When comparing Luxembourg to its neighbours, people in the grand duchy are far more likely to buy and eat organic food. Only 28% in Belgium and 28% in France said they do so, equal to the EU average. The figure is higher in Germany (39%), but it’s still far below the number for the grand duchy (60%).

People in Luxembourg were the most likely to say that they buy and eat less meat (53%) amongst the inhabitants of the Greater Region. 47% of people in Germany said they do so, followed by 41% in France and 39% in Belgium. These are all above the EU average of 31%.

Only respondents in the Netherlands (58%) were more likely than people in Luxembourg to say they buy and eat less meat. Sweden was at the same level as the grand duchy (53%).

High sense of personal responsibility

The Eurobarometer results showed that nearly two-thirds of people in Luxembourg (62%) consider individuals to be responsible for tackling climate change, compared to 35% for the EU average. Only the figure for Malta is higher (63%). Respondents in Sweden also feel personally responsible (60%).

Nearly half of people in Germany (48%), 46% in France and 40% in Belgium said that they themselves were responsible for tackling climate change.

Find the full results of the Eurobarometer survey .

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