Nine in ten Cypriots believe climate change is serious
Just over one in ten respondents in Cyprus believe climate change is the single most serious problem facing the world (11%, compared with the EU average of 18%), but most agree it is a priority concern.
As in 2019, climate change ranks third in Cyprus, behind poverty, hunger, and the lack of drinking water (21% vs the EU average of 17%) and the economic situation (20% vs the EU average of 14%).
According to the EU Special Barometer on climate change, close to nine in ten respondents think it is a very serious problem (89%, above the EU 78%), increasing six percentage points since 2019.
Around seven in ten respondents in Cyprus believe national governments (70% vs the EU average of 63%) and the European Union (69% vs the EU average of 57%) are responsible for tackling climate change, corresponding to increases of 20 and 27 percentage points respectively since 2019.
Moreover, 46% said they are personally responsible for tackling climate change (EU average 41%).
In fact, close to two-thirds of respondents say they have taken action to fight climate change in the past six months, and this proportion increases to 90% (below the EU 96%) when asked to choose from a list of 15 possible actions to fight climate change.
On average, respondents in Cyprus are less likely to have taken any action to fight climate change.
However, they are much more likely to have installed solar panels in their home (19%, compared with the EU 8%).
More than nine in ten respondents in Cyprus agree that tackling climate change and environmental issues should be a priority to improve public health (92%, above EU 87%).
Moreover, 86% agree the cost of the damage due to climate change is much higher than the investment needed for a green transition (EU 74%).
And 96% in Cyprus think it is important that both their national government (EU 88%) and the European Union set ambitious targets to increase the amount of renewable energy used by 2030.
Over nine in ten respondents in Cyprus (94% vs EU 90%) agree that greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced to a minimum while offsetting the remaining emissions to make the EU economy climate-neutral by 2050. Close to eight in ten respondents (79% vs EU 75%) think the money from the economic recovery plan should mainly be invested in the new green economy.