The EIB study showed that climate change awareness is ubiquitous amongst all age groups and political positions. Copyright (c) 2021 DisobeyArt/Shutterstock. No use without permission.

The EIB study showed that climate change awareness is ubiquitous amongst all age groups and political positions. Copyright (c) 2021 DisobeyArt/Shutterstock. No use without permission.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) on 8 November shared the results of its study on people’s views on climate change. On average, Luxembourg participants were supportive of stricter rules if this positively impacted climate change.

While most participants (77%) think climate change has and will continue to impact their daily lives, 8% of the group asked didn’t see human activity as a cause for this. Left-leaning political subjects tended to be more aware of the impact of climate change on their lives than right-leaning political subjects.

Despite some differences among age groups and political groups, the majority—63%--is in favour of rules similar to the highly effective measures taken during the 2020 lockdown to combat the crisis effectively.

Solutions that gathered support

Luxembourg, as many European countries, consumes a lot of energy. 58% of people said they were in favour of using renewable energies (less than the 63% EU average), while 29% suggested Luxembourg households should focus on energy saving – 12 points more than the 17% EU average. Less young people were in favour of saving than older age groups (18% vs 38%), whereas more under30s were in favour of renewable energy sources.

In general, Luxembourg participants were not supportive of nuclear energy, with only 6% voting for the atomic energy source.

Other options, aside from stricter lockdown-like rules and energy sources, were the introduction of a higher tax on polluting products and services, as well as the replacement of short-distance flights by fast, low-emission trains. The vast majority (95%) were also in favour of pushing youth awareness of sustainable consumption.