Europeans are highly concerned about climate change and they are also willing to take action against it, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey for the European Commission.

The majority of Europeans believe that the European Union’s targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and increasing the share of renewable energy by 2020 are about right or even too modest. However, a significant proportion of people feel poorly informed about climate change and ways to help fight it.

According to the survey, three-quarters of EU citizens take the problem of climate change very seriously. In total, 62% of respondents consider climate change to be one of the two most serious problems facing the world today. Only poverty scored higher, being placed in the top two by 68%. But even if Europeans widely recognise the seriousness of climate change, most (60%) believe it can be solved. And a clear majority (56%) consider that fighting climate change can have a positive impact on the economy.

A majority (61%) said they had taken some kind of action against climate change themselves. However, the types of action taken mainly involve little personal or financial effort: separating waste or reducing consumption of energy, water or throw-away products.

u http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/