European Attitudes to Climate Change and Energy: Topline Results from Round 8 of the European Social Survey ESS Topline Issue Results Series9 2 European Attitudes to Climate Change and Energy This latest issue in our Topline Results we hope that this latest data will influence series examines public attitudes academic, public and policy debate in this towards climate change and energy for area. the first time in the ESS. The module We include two different topics in was selected for inclusion due to its each round of the survey to expand the academic excellence as well as the relevance of our data into new areas increasing relevance of this issue. For and to allow repetition if the case can be example the Paris Agreement made made to examine the same area again. by 195 United Nations Framework Everyone at the ESS is delighted with the Convention on Climate Change work of the Questionnaire Design Team (UNFCCC) countries in 2016 who led on the design of this module, underlines the salience of the topic. and who have written this excellent With many parts of Europe and the publication. world recording rising temperatures and Rory Fitzgerald experiencing more extreme weather, ESS ERIC Director the subject is a key grand challenge. City, University of London By assessing public opinion on climate change and the related issue of energy The authors of this issue: • Wouter Poortinga, Professor of Environmental Psychology, Cardiff University • Stephen Fisher, Associate Professor in Political Sociology, Trinity College, University of Oxford • Gisela Böhm, Professor of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen • Linda Steg, Professor of Environmental Psychology, University of Groningen • Lorraine Whitmarsh, Professor of Environmental Psychology, Cardiff University • Charles Ogunbode, Researcher, University of Bergen Additionally, the following members of the ESS Core Scientific Team contributed to the design of the Climate Change and Energy module: • Brita Dorer (GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences) • Salima Douhou, Rory Fitzgerald, Ana Villar and Lizzy Winstone (ESS HQ housed at City, University of London). • Diana Zavala Rojas (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) September 2018 Topline Results from Round 8 of the European Social Survey 3 European Attitudes to Climate Change and Energy: Topline Results from Round 8 of the European Social Survey Wouter Poortinga, Stephen Fisher, Gisela Böhm, Linda Steg, Lorraine Whitmarsh, Charles Ogunbode Introduction Climate change poses serious risks to Round 8 of the European Social Survey natural, social and economic systems, (ESS) fielded a newly developed Climate and is currently one of the most pressing Change and Energy module. The module global challenges. To avoid further human was designed to create a comprehensive, interference with the climate system, theoretically-grounded dataset of public significant reductions in greenhouse gas attitudes to climate change, energy emissions are needed in the coming security and energy preferences; using a decades (IPCC, 2014). This requires conceptual framework that was broadly transforming the way energy is produced based on the Value-Belief-Norm model and used, including reductions in energy (Stern, 2000). In this topline report, we demand. Successfully decarbonising will cover the areas of (1) climate change energy in Europe will require behaviour beliefs, (2) climate change and energy change, new low-carbon energy security concerns, (3) personal norms and technologies and facilities, as well as efficacy beliefs, (4) energy preferences, policies and regulations that are only and (5) environmental policy preferences. achievable with widespread public Fieldwork for ESS Round 8 took place acceptance. between August 2016 and December Decisions about decarbonising energy 2017. The full dataset consists of 44,387 supplies to mitigate climate change, respondents from 23 countries.1 Further however, need to be considered in details about data collection can be found relation to other energy challenges. in the ESS8 Data Documentation Report, Ensuring a reliable and secure supply of Edition 2.0.2 The robust design process, energy has become increasingly important alongside high-quality translation and strict in the light of internationalisation of energy guidelines regarding data collection,3 markets, rising energy prices, and a increases the likelihood that reliable cross- continuing dependence on fossil fuels national comparisons can be made. (World Energy Council, 2013). Action that different governments may take in response to these issues is similarly dependent on public perceptions in their respective countries. 4 European Attitudes to Climate Change and Energy Climate Change Beliefs & Pidgeon, 2011). First, respondents were Questions were designed to assess asked whether they think the world’s climate people’s mental representations of is changing. climate change, specifically their beliefs Table 1 shows the percentage of regarding its existence, causes and impacts respondents in each country that think that (Poortinga, Spence, Whitmarsh, Capstick, the world’s climate is probably or definitely Table 1: Beliefs in the reality, causes and impacts of climate change CLIMATE CLIMATE IS CHANGE AT CLIMATE COUNTRY PROBABLY OR LEAST PARTLY CHANGE COUNTRY CODE DEFINITELY CAUSED IMPACTS WILL CHANGING (%) BY HUMAN BE BAD (%) ACTIVITY (%) Austria AT 92.5 91.8 74.0 Belgium BE 96.4 94.0 66.3 Czech Republic CZ 88.9 89.5 68.0 Estonia EE 91.3 88.8 59.7 Finland FI 94.0 93.9 67. 2 France FR 96.3 93.8 73.7 Germany DE 95.4 94.8 77. 4 Hungary HU 91.4 92.7 77. 0 Iceland IS 97. 7 94.6 81.6 Ireland IE 96.1 91.1 63.2 Israel IL 86.3 85.4 58.1 Italy IT 94.8 93.6 69.0 Lithuania LT 88.7 82.7 73.7 Netherlands NL 96.2 91.8 61.6 Norway NO 92.9 87. 8 71.9 Poland PL 92.6 89.6 70.4 Portugal PT 97. 0 93.6 81.1 Russia RU 82.2 83.8 61.8 Slovenia SI 96.5 93.0 71.4 Spain ES 95.8 95.7 87. 9 Sweden SE 96.8 92.4 81.2 Switzerland CH 96.4 94.4 74.0 United Kingdom GB 93.6 91.0 66.0 Source: European Social Survey Round 8, 2016-2017. Post-stratification weights have been applied for country-level analysis. Topline Results from Round 8 of the European Social Survey 5 changing. While in most countries more Climate Change and Energy Security than 90% think that the world’s climate is Concerns at least probably changing, in Israel and a Decisions about decarbonising energy number of Eastern European countries less supplies to mitigate climate change than 90% think this is the case - although cannot be separated from other policy the percentages in these countries still considerations, principally ensuring a reliable and secure supply of energy represent overwhelming majorities. that is affordable to all households. The simultaneous concern about reliability, Respondents were subsequently asked security and affordability together is known whether they thought that climate change is as the energy trilemma (World Energy caused by natural processes, human activity, Council, 2013). or both. Table 1 shows the percentage Here we report on respondents’ affective of respondents that think that climate (emotional) evaluations of climate change change is at least partly caused by human and energy security. In particular, we activity. The established scientific view is elicit concern about the energy trilemma, measuring people’s personal feelings of that it is extremely likely human activity is worry about climate change, the reliability driving observed changes in the climate of energy supply, and the affordability of (IPCC, 2014), and a great majority of the energy on a scale from “not at all worried” to respondents accept that human activity “extremely worried”. plays a role, if only in part. There is cross- Despite a great majority of Europeans national variation, with residents of Israel, thinking that the world’s climate is changing, Norway and a number of Eastern European and that it is at least partly due to human countries being slightly less likely to think activity, concern about climate change is relatively low. Across the 23 participating that climate change is at least partly caused countries, just over a quarter of the by human activity. respondents report being very or extremely worried about climate change. The low Table 1 further shows the percentage of level of concern is surprising, given that just respondents in the different countries that under two-thirds think the impact of climate think that the consequences of climate change will be bad for people across the change will be bad. Respondents could world (cf. Table 1). give a score from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning Figure 1 shows the percentages of “extremely bad” and 10 meaning “extremely respondents in the 23 individual countries good”. In most countries a majority gave a that report being very or extremely worried about climate change, the reliability of score on the left side of the scale (i.e. 0-4), energy supply (energy reliability), and the although again there is some cross-national affordability of energy (energy affordability), variation. respectively. When comparing the 6 European Attitudes to Climate Change and Energy Figure 1: Concern about climate change, energy reliably and energy affordability (% very/extremely worried) PT ES DE FR IS SI BE CH IT AT HU GB FI NO NL CZ SE IE IL LT EE PL RU 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Climate change Energy reliability Energy affordability Source: European Social Survey Round 8, 2016-2017. Post-stratification weights have been applied for country-level analysis. Topline Results from Round 8 of the European Social Survey 7 responses across the 23 countries, it Concern about the affordability of energy is appears that people are the most worried higher than concern about energy reliability about the affordability of energy, with 40% in every country, and it is higher than reporting being very or extremely worried, concern about climate change in a majority and the least worried about the reliability of of countries.