Which European countries should lead climate decision-making?

The majority of people in Denmark (69%), France (73%), Italy (76%), Spain (74%), Germany (63%), and the UK (62%) are concerned about climate change and its effects, according to a new YouGov survey.

However, Germans and the British are the most likely, out of the countries surveyed, to say that they are not worried about climate change.

Europe is the third-largest emitter of CO2 from fuel combustion globally, with Germany and the UK occupying the first and third places, respectively, in the regional top three, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The YouGov survey interviewed more than 8,700 people in five EU countries and the UK before COP30 began in Belém, Brazil.

The UN Climate Conference, which ends on 21 November, has been marked by Indigenous protests demanding their right to be included in discussions at the summit.

Most respondents believe that it is still possible to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but it would take a drastic change in policy to achieve this.

Spain supports this idea the most, at 65%, while in Germany it falls to just 46%.

Which countries should lead climate decision-making?

In line with the COP30 motto “Global Mutirão”, which translates as “global collective effort”, there is a broad consensus among EU respondents that tackling climate change will be more effective if all countries work together.

Although rich countries account for almost two-thirds of cumulative historical carbon emissions, fewer than one in four people believe that wealthy countries should take on most of the responsibility of tackling climate change.

Most people in Spain, Denmark, and Germany claim that the EU should make decisions on climate change on behalf of all members.

Meanwhile, France and Italy are more divided, believing that each nation’s government should make such decisions independently of the EU.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament’s environment committee backed the revision of the bloc’s climate law, which sets the EU27 to cut 90% greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.