The general public and climate change 2008

The general public and

climate change 2008

The general public’s knowledge of and attitude to climate change, with the

focus on people’s own actions and the responsibilities of companies

Orders

Order tel.: +46 8-505 933 40 Order fax: +46 8-505 933 99

E-mail: natur@cm.se

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Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Tel: +46 8-698 10 00, fax: +46 8-20 29 25

E-mail: registrator@naturvardsverket.se

Postal address: Naturvårdsverket, SE-106 48 Stockholm: Internet: www.naturvardsverket.se

ISBN 978 -91-620-5905-7 ISSN 0282-7298 © Naturvårdsverket 2008

Printed by: CM-Gruppen Print run: 500 copies Design: Engström med flera

The questions relating to the general public’s knowledge of and attitude to climate change, including acceptance of measures, were put to 1 000 people between 8 and 22 September 2008. Equivalent questions have been asked every year since 2002. The term “greenhouse effect” has been replaced by “climate change” since the 2007 survey.

The questions concerning the views of the general public on the efforts of com-panies to deal with climate change were asked between 15 and 18 September 2008, the questions concerning attitudes and consumer behaviour between 22 and 26 September 2008 and the question concerning how people wish to receive information was asked between 15 and 21 October 2008. All these questions were put to 1 000 people as part of an omnibus (multi-purpose) survey. Data were collected for all the questions by telephone interview.

The survey company ARS Research AB carried out the various opinion surveys presented in this report on behalf of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

Worries over a financial downturn may have influenced views on the significance of the issue of climate change in all the surveys. The global financial crisis of the autumn of 2008 began in the United States on Monday 15 September.

This summary and the background reports and tables on which it is based can be downloaded from www.naturvardsverket.se/klimat.

This report is also available in Swedish: ISBN 978-91-620-5904-0 and ISSN 0282-7298.

Foreword

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has surveyed the Swedish population’s knowledge of and attitude to climate change since 2002. The results of the new survey in 2008, which are presented in this report, can be summarised as follows:

The readiness of Swedes to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions has continued to increase, despite the issue of climate change not being considered quite as important as in 2007, when it dominated media reporting. At the same time, the general public want more information on how emissions can be reduced.

Swedes are prepared to support those companies that take the lead in dealing with climate change, but they regard companies as poor at marketing their climate efforts and express a wish for climate-friendly products and services to be labelled.

Swedes consider it “very important” that people in Sweden take meas-ures to deal with climate change.

The general conclusion from the 2008 survey is that the level of commit-ment of the general public on the issue of climate change remains high and that people are now prepared to move on from words to action.

Jessica Cederberg Wodmar, project leader for climate communication at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, was responsible for this assignment.

Stockholm, November 2008

Contents

In brief, did you know that… 8

Knowledge of climate change 9

Awareness of climate change 10

Will we in Sweden be affected, and if so when? 10

Action on the issue of climate change and on other social issues 11

What is possible and what targets and instruments are required? 12

Is there anything we in Sweden can do? 13

Is there anything you can do yourself? 13

Acceptance of action people can imagine for themselves 14

Government instruments aimed at limiting carbon dioxide emissions 16

The climate efforts of companies 18 Willingness to buy from companies that make

efforts to limit climate change 19

Willingness to pay more when buying from

companies that make efforts to limit climate change 19

Importance of companies making a commitment to reduced emissions 20

Costs to companies of emitting greenhouse gases 20

Are companies good at marketing their climate efforts? 21

Ecolabelling for low greenhouse gas emissions 21

Attitudes and consumer behaviour 23

Are you climate-aware? 24

Do you have a bad conscience about your climate impact? 24

Is it important among your friends to be climate-aware? 25

How have you reduced your climate impact? 25

How often do you think about climate in your

choice of product or service? 26

… 100 per cent of respondents spontaneously

acknowledge having “heard mention of” climate change, up from 96 per cent in 2002 (when the question related to “the greenhouse effect”).

… 96 per cent believe that Sweden has already

been or will be affected by climate change, up from 92 per cent in 2002.

… 55 per cent of the above think that we have

already been affected, up from 48 per cent in 2002.

… 71 per cent consider it very important that

we in Sweden take action to deal with climate change, down from 76 per cent in the record year of 2007 but up from 63 per cent in 2002.

… 84 per cent

think that we in Sweden can do something to curb climate change, down from 88 per cent in 2007 but up from 82 per cent in 2002.

… 80 per cent

think that we in Sweden can do something to curb climate change, down from 81 per cent in 2007 but up from 68 per cent in 2002.

… at least 50 per cent

can “definitely” imagine taking action to reduce emissions in 13 out of 14 listed areas.

… 86 per cent can “definitely” imagine buying

energy-efficient domestic appliances (compared with 84 per cent in 2007) and 76 per cent taking a train instead of flying (compared with 71 per cent in 2007).

… 67 per cent feel that more information to

households on climate change would be useful in persuading households to choose goods and serv-ices that reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

… 67 per cent would like to receive

informa-tion on how they can reduce their climate impact through news in the media, while there is demand for other information channels from between 21 and 46 per cent.

… 58 per cent consider that extra taxes and

duties, for example on petrol, oil and aviation, would be good or quite good, down from 64 per cent in 2007 but up from 51 per cent in 2002.

… 62 per cent “definitely” or “probably” prefer

to buy goods from companies they know to make efforts to limit climate change, down from 69 per cent in 2007.

… 76 per cent can “definitely” or “probably”

imagine paying more for an article or service if they know that the company that produces it makes efforts to limit climate change, down from 82 per cent in 2007.

… 82 per cent think that it will become “more

important” for companies to make a commitment to reduced emissions, down from 88 per cent in 2007.

… 51 per cent think that the costs to companies

of emitting greenhouse gases will increase, down from 57 per cent in 2007.

… 68 per cent think that companies are poor at

reporting what they do to limit greenhouse gas emissions, down from 78 per cent in 2007.

… 91 per cent think that it would be useful to

have ecolabelling of goods and services with low greenhouse gas emissions, down from 92 per cent in 2007.

… 91 per cent consider themselves

environmen-tally aware.

… 52 per cent sometimes have a bad conscience

about doing something that may have a negative climate impact.

… 69 per cent feel that it is important in the

circles they mix in to be aware of their climate impact.

… 84 per cent have taken at least one measure

to reduce their climate impact in the past two years.

… 68 per cent make the actual choice of often

or sometimes choosing a product or service with less environmental impact.

… 74 per cent mention price as the greatest

obstacle to choosing environmentally friendly and climate-friendly alternatives.

Knowledge

Awareness of climate

change

“Have you heard mention of climate

change?”

The proportion who are spontaneously aware of climate change is 97 per cent in 2008, up from 89 per cent in 2002 (when the question related to “the greenhouse effect”).

If those who state that they have “heard mention of” climate change are

included, the proportion rises to 100 per cent, up from 96 per cent in 2002.

Spontaneously aware Have heard mention of Have not heard mention of

0 20 40 60 80 100 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 93 93 92 89 6 6 6 7 1 94 6 3 1 2 4 94 97 5 1 0 20 40 60 80 100 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 81 82 79 73 83 Yes, definitely Yes, maybe Don’t know No, hardly No, not at all

16 13 ₁₇ 19 1 1 1 2 2 2 ₃ 2 1 3 1 14 1 3 0 80 16 1 3 1 2 1 82 15 1

Will we in Sweden be

affected, and if so when?

“Do you think that climate change is

something that affects those of us

who live in Sweden now or will do so

in the future?”

The proportion who “definitely” think that we in Sweden have been affected or will be affected is 80 per cent in 2008, marginally lower than in the previous four years and substantially higher than in 2002. If those who responded with “yes, maybe” are included, the proportion

in 2008 is 96 per cent.

Those who answered the above ques-tion with “yes” were also asked when they thought we would be affected. 55 per cent responded with “already affected now”, 10 percent “in a few years”, 18 per cent in 10-20 years and 9 per cent in 30–50 years.

Action on the climate issue and on other social issues

“How important do you consider it to be that we in Sweden take action in various social areas?

How important is it that we try to deal with...”

The proportion who think that it is “very important” that we in Sweden take action to deal with climate change has steadily increased every year since the baseline year of 2002, the only area where this has hap-pened.

The proportion rose from 63 to 69 per cent between 2002 and 2006. There was a sharp rise to 76 per cent in 2007, during heavy reporting on climate issues, and in 2008 the proportion was 71 per cent.

In 2008, 78 per cent of women and 64 per cent of men considered action to deal with climate change to be “very important”. Bas: Samtliga 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 80 85 89 87 83 17 13 10 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ₁ 1 1 15 2 1

Bristerna i v¬rd och omsorg

0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 86 88 87 85 84 13 11 12 13 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 14 1 Brottslighet 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 70 74 78 79 73 27 23 19 18 2 2 1 1 1 12 1 1 24 2 1

Ohâlsa och l¬ngtids/sjukskrivningar Klimatfàrândringar Bristande integration av

invandrare till Sverige

Mycket viktigt Ganska viktigt Vet ej Inte sârskilt Inte alls viktigt

1 1 1 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 68 66 64 63 69 27 29 31 30 1 1 2 3 2 31 _{3 2} 27 1 2 _{1 2 1} 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 50 54 56 54 53 36 33 31 29 2 3 2 4 6 6 3 6 ₇ 6 36 6 3 _{6 5 4} Bas: Samtliga 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 80 86 89 87 81 17 12 10 10 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 17 2 1 Deficiencies in health and social care

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 86 88 87 85 84 13 12 11 13 11 11 11 11 14 1 Crime 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 70 74 78 79 73 27 23 19 18 2 2 1 1 1 12 1 1 24 2 1 Ill-health and long-term sick leave

Climate change Inadequate integration of immigrants in Sweden

Very important Quite important Don’t know Not particularly important Not at all important

1 1 1 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 68 66 64 63 69 27 29 31 30 1 1 2 3 2 31 3 2 27 1 2 _{1 2 1} 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 50 54 56 54 53 36 33 31 29 2 3 2 4 6 6 3 6 ₇ 6 36 6 3 ₆ 5 4

När diagramstaplarna inte stämmer

(blir över 100%) är det siffrorna som

ligger lösa ovanpå som ska vara rätt.

Det största fältet kan justeras så att

stapelns summa blir 100%.

Diagrammen är minskade på

bredden till 45%. Sen markerar

man siffrorna på axlarna med

direktmarkeingspilen och ställer

tillbaka teckenbredden till 100%.

83 15 1 82 17 1 _{1 1} 11 10 85 14 1 85 71 3 2 24 69 12 28 76 21 1 2 71 25 1 2 53 3 33 6 6 54 3 32 6 5

What is possible

and what targets

and instruments are

required?

Is there anything we in

Sweden can do?

“Do you think that there is anything

we in Sweden

can do to curb climate

change?”

The proportion who “definitely” think that there is something we in Sweden can do to curb climate change is 58 per cent in 2008. The proportion has been higher in the past three years than in the four preceding years.

The overall proportion who responded with “definitely” or “yes, maybe” is 84 per cent.

The proportion was 90 per cent among women and 79 per cent among men.

Yes, definitely Yes, maybe Don’t know

No, hardly No, not at all

0 20 40 60 80 100 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 49 56 56 51 11 4 10 9 12 1 1 ₁ 59 29 35 31 31 9 3 4 4 5 59 29 9 3 1 58 26 12 4 29

Is there anything you can

do yourself?

“Do you feel that there is anything

you

yourself

can do to curb climate change

and changes to the Swedish climate?”

The proportion who “definitely” feel that they themselves can do something to curb climate change and changes to the Swed-ish climate is 51 per cent in 2008, down from 55 per cent in 2007, but up on previous years.

The overall proportion who responded with “definitely” or “yes, maybe” is 80 per cent.

The proportion was 84 per cent among women and 74 per cent among men.

0 20 40 60 80 100 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 39 44 41 37 17 10 17 15 17 1 _{1 1} 1 2 44 29 33 27 33 31 17 9 9 9 13 1 55 26 13 4

Have already done everything

1 51 29 13 5 2 Yes, definitely Yes, maybe Don’t know No, hardly No, not at all

Acceptance of action people can imagine for themselves

“Climate change arises principally as a result of emissions of carbon dioxide, from households

and elsewhere. Which of the following could you imagine doing to reduce carbon dioxide

emissions and curb climate change?”

0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 75 83 72 75 79 18 12 18 13 1 ₃ 3 3 4 1 5 4 15 41 1 24 4 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 68 71 60 60 68 19 18 ₁₈ 15 19 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 57 61 59 58 59 24 20 22 19 9 9 10 9 7 8 ₈ 6 24 6 10 1

Yes, definitely Yes, maybe Don’t know No, hardly No, not at all

9 1 4 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 62 65 58 54 67 25 22 25 23 5 8 5 7 6 8 8 7 22 3 8 8 ₁ 1 3 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 55 62 55 59 60 33 28 32 27 4 3 4 5 7 5 56 6 3 29 7 1 ₁ 1 ₂

När diagramstaplarna inte stämmer

(blir över 100%) är det siffrorna som

ligger lösa ovanpå som ska vara rätt.

Det största fältet kan justeras så att

stapelns summa blir 100%.

Diagrammen är minskade på

bredden till 45%. Sen markerar

man siffrorna på axlarna med

direktmarkeingspilen och ställer

tillbaka teckenbredden till 100%.

Buying energy-efficient domestic appliances the next time I replace them

Driving in a more fuel-efficient

way, ecodriving Taking a train insteadof flying, if possible

Reducing electricity consumption in the home

Choosing a more environmentally friendly product even if it is more expensive 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 63 68 52 54 66 23 20 22 17 4 3 ₅ 8 6 5_{7 6} 18 21 6 4 ₂ 2 14

Choosing a more environmentally friendly car next time

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 52 59 52 53 51 17 16 18 13 14 12 9 11 10 12 14 10 8 3 ₁₄ 3 21 15 10 3 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 42 47 44 43 46 20 15 17 15 19 19 17 17 18 15 13 12 13 18 15 19 2 1 1 11

Car-sharing on the way to work/school or for leisure

Travelling more by public transport 2 6 5 4 6 3 3 5 3 5 5 12 5 5 15 84 11 0 1 3 1 86 9 2 3 3₄ 3 12 79 3 4 3 13 77 71 18 4 7 1 76 14 4 5 1 54 18 14 11 3 59 14 15 9 3 72 17 3 8 67 3 23 1 6 75 16 2 7 67 2 26 4 1 74 3 15 6 2 71 3 18 6 2 45 16 17 21 1 54 13 14 17 1 4

The combined proportion who responded to the various questions with “definitely” is substantially higher in 2008 than in previous years.

A majority can “definitely” imagine taking action in 13 of the 14 enumerated areas. The most popular choices would be to buy energy-efficient household appliances (86 per cent), drive in a more fuel-efficient way (77 per cent) and take a train instead of flying (76 per cent), while the least popular choices are travelling more by public transport (54 per cent) and eating less meat (40 per cent).

The actions for which acceptance has increased most quickly over the past year are travelling more by public transport (from 45 to 54 per cent) and taking a train instead of flying (from 71 to 76 per cent). Increased acceptance of car-sharing more (from 54 to 59 per cent) and driving less (from 53 to 57 per cent) can also be noted.

The actions for which acceptance has increased most throughout the seven-year period are driving less (from 33 to 57 per cent), lowering

the temperature indoors (from 36 to 59 per cent) and driving

more slowly (from 41 to 63 per cent). The areas in which acceptance has increased least are choosing a more Bas: Hört talas om växthuseffekten

När diagramstaplarna inte stämmer

(blir över 100%) är det siffrorna som

ligger lösa ovanpå som ska vara rätt.

Det största fältet kan justeras så att

stapelns summa blir 100%.

Diagrammen är minskade på

bredden till 45%. Sen markerar

man siffrorna på axlarna med

direktmarkeingspilen och ställer

tillbaka teckenbredden till 100%.

0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 51 61 51 51 64 24 18 22 18 18 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 53 56 44 47 58 25 20 25 19 23 0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 50 56 41 41 62 22 18 22 16 12 7 3 15 13 11 12 12 ₁₁ 17 17 11 3 63 7 16 11 3 3 12 13

Washing at 40° instead of 60° Changing to more environmentally friendly heating in the home

Driving more slowly, for example at 90 instead of 110 km/hour 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 50 48 40 36 52 22 20 ₂₂ 19 14 11 15 22 13 15 18 14 15 8 21 16 1 1 2 6

Lowering the temperature indoors 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 43 48 33 33 45 24 ₁₉ 24 20 14 14 15 16 17 15 13 15 14 17 22 15 4 2 3 15 Driving less 11 8 9 10 8 11 12 10 9 3 11 2 9 6 3 69 16 8 6 1 6 8 6 10 15 7 12 11 7 5 ₂₀ 4 10 4 4 0 61 18 12 7 2 63 19 10 5 3 68 15 10 5 3 54 8 19 14 4 58 8 19 15 1 59 10 16 15 53 11 18 16 2 57 10 17 13 3 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 40 17 22 20

Eating less meat (new question)

Information to households

Would it be useful or not useful to provide hous-eholds with more information on climate change and persuade them to choose goods and services that reduce carbon dioxide emissions? Would it be useful, quite useful or not useful?

Grants/lowered taxes

Would it be useful or not useful if the government used tax money to provide grants or lowered taxes for the purchase of goods and services that reduce carbon dioxide emissions? Would it be useful, quite useful or not useful?

Extra taxes and duties

Would it be useful or not useful if the government charged extra taxes and duties on goods and services that are not as environmentally friendly, for example on petrol, oil and flights that produce large carbon dioxide emissions? Would it be useful, quite useful or not useful?

Government instruments aimed at limiting carbon

dioxide emissions

“How could we

curb

climate change?” Here are three suggestions.

Useful Quite useful Don’t know Not useful

0 20 40 60 80 100 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 74 74 74 75 77 20 21 19 18 5 ₁4 6 1 6 1 1 18 4 1 Information to households 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 65 64 63 68 59 Grants/lowered taxes 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 29 30 32 32 29 20 22 24 19 23

Extra taxes and duties

20 20 24 18 12 12 11 4 3 11 2 3 24 15 48 45 41 44 44 2 64 24 10 3 3 3 ₅ 3 3 72 23 4 1 67 27 5 1 65 23 9 2 33 25 39 2 35 29 33 3

There have been relatively stable replies relating to the three areas throughout the survey period, but it may be noted that the proportion of re-spondents who consider the three instruments mentioned to be useful was slightly down in 2008 on the previous year.

The proportion who consider that it would be useful to provide more information to households about climate change and to persuade them to choose goods and services that reduce carbon di-oxide emissions in 2008 is 67 per cent, while the proportion who consider it useful to have grants/ lowered taxes is 59 per cent and the proportion who want extra taxes and duties is 33 per cent.

How do people wish to receive information about

reduced climate impact?

“

Increased knowledge

can contribute to the general public reducing their climate

impact, for example by reducing their energy use. How would you like to receive

information from authorities about how to reduce your impact on the climate?”

As many as 67 per cent would like to receive information about how they can reduce their climate impact through “news in the media”. This is down on the figure for 2007 but up on 2006. There is demand for other information channels from between 21 and 46 per cent. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Don’t know Do not wish to receive information Websites of authorities Notices in public places Notices, advertising in the media Notices, information from authorities in the post box at home News in the media 64 % 38 % 39 % 20 % 20 % 2 % 3 % 73 % 67% 41% 46% 25% 21% 2% 3% 38 % 39 % 28 % _{27 %} 2 % 3 % 90 100 2007 2008 2006

The climate efforts of

companies

Note that the questions relating to the climate

efforts of companies were put to the general

public between 15 and 18 September 2008,

and that the global financial crisis began on

15 September. The financial crisis may have

Willingness to buy from

companies that make

efforts to limit climate

change

“When you buy goods or services, do

you prefer to buy them from a

com-pany you know to make efforts to limit

climate change?”

A combined total of 62 per cent of respon-dents state that they “definitely” (18 per cent) or “probably” (44 per cent) prefer to buy goods from companies they know to make efforts to limit climate change, while 32 per cent state that they do not prefer to do so.

More women respond with “definitely” (21 per cent) than men (15 per cent).

The proportion answering this question with yes was lower in 2008 than in the three previous years.

Yes, definitely Yes, probably Don’t know

No, probably not No, definitely not

0 20 40 60 80 100 2005 2006 2007 2008 20 24 4 6 18 44 46 27 6 5 24 45 20 6 5 21 45 20 9 5

Willingness to pay

more when buying from

companies that make

efforts to limit climate

change

“Could you imagine paying slightly

more, let’s say 5 per cent more, for

an article or service if you know that

the company that produces it makes

efforts to limit climate change?”

A combined total of 76 per cent state that they “definitely” (33 per cent) or “pro-bably” (43 per cent) can imagine paying more for an article or service if they know that the company that produces it makes efforts to limit climate change.

The proportion who can “definitely” imagine paying more fell in 2008 in com-parison with 2007 and is now down to

0 20 40 60 80 100 2005 2006 2007 2008 32 12 5 3 33 43 49 14 4 6 44 38 9 4 5 32 48 11 4 5 Yes, definitely Yes, probably Don’t know

No, probably not No, definitely not

Importance of companies

making a commitment to

reduced emissions

“Do you think that, over the next 5–10

years, it will be more important, less

important or just as important as

today for companies to make a

com-mitment to reducing greenhouse gas

emissions?”

The proportion who think that it will be “more important” for companies to make

a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is 82 per cent, while 12 per cent reply “equally important” and only 3 per cent “less important”.

The proportion who think it will be “more important” fell in 2008.

More important

Just as important Don’t know Less important 0 20 40 60 80 100 2005 2006 2007 2008 85 3 1 86 10 11 3 1 82 12 3 3 88 8 2 2

Costs to companies of

emitting greenhouse

gases

“Do you think that the costs to

com-panies of emitting greenhouse gases

should be increased, reduced or

un-changed in comparison with today?”

The proportion who think that the costs to companies of emitting greenhouse ga-ses should be increased was 51 per cent, while 26 per cent think that the costs should be unchanged and 11 per cent that they should be reduced.

The proportion who want the costs to

be increased was down in 2008. _Increased

Unchanged Don’t know Reduced 0 20 40 60 80 100 2005 2006 2007 2008 58 8 9 58 22 25 11 9 51 26 12 11 57 25 10 8

Are companies good at

marketing their climate

efforts?

“Do you think that companies are

good or poor in reporting what they

do to limit greenhouse gas emissions

in their marketing of their goods and

services?”

One in four people consider companies to be very good (2 per cent) or quite good (23 per cent) at reporting what they do to limit greenhouse gas emissions, while more than two-thirds of people consider companies to be very poor (21 per cent) or quite poor (47 per cent) at doing so.

The proportion who consider companies to be good is up on previous years.

0 20 40 60 80 100 2006 2007 2008 7 43 30 2 18 6 48 30 2 15 7 47 21 2 23

Very poor Quite good Quite poor Very good

Don’t know

Ecolabelling for low

greenhouse gas

emissions

“Would it be useful or not useful for

there to be ecolabelling so that you

can tell which goods and services are

produced with low greenhouse

emis-sions?”

As many as 91 per cent think that it would be useful to have ecolabelling of goods and services with low greenhouse gas emissions. 64 per cent reply “very useful” and 27 per cent “quite useful”.

Among women, 68 per cent consider that it would be very useful, while the equivalent proportion for men is 59 per cent. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 65 28 68 64 27 24 90 100

Attitudes and

Are you climate-aware?

“Do you regard yourself as a person

who is climate-aware?”

Nine out of every ten respond that they regard themselves as climate-aware. One in four respond with “yes, definitely” and two-thirds respond with “yes, to some extent”.

More men (29 per cent) than women (23 per cent) “definitely” regard themsel-ves as climate-aware.

Do you have a bad

conscience about your

climate impact?

“Does it happen that you have a bad

conscience when you do things you

believe have a negative impact on

climate?”

Half reply that it happens that they have a bad conscience when they do things they believe have a negative impact on climate. Of these, 10 per cent reply that they often have a bad conscience because of this and 42 per cent reply that they sometimes do.

Despite a higher proportion of men than women considering themselves climate-aware, a substantially lower pro-portion of men reply that they have a bad conscience if they do things that have a negative impact on climate.

1 %

Unsure, don’t know 2 % No, definitely not 26 % Yes, definitely 6 % No, hardly 65 %

Yes, to some extent

1 %

Unsure, don’t know 5 % I don’t do things I believe have a negative impact on climate 13 % No, never 29 % No, rarely 10 % Yes, often 42 % Yes, sometimes

How have you reduced

your climate impact?

“Have you done anything in your

everyday life to reduce your impact

on climate in the past two years, for

example with regard to...”

As many as 84 per cent separate their waste more. 78 per cent of respondents say that they have done something about their energy consumption in the home. Two-thirds (62 per cent) have done

some-thing with regard to daily transport and an equal number (62 per cent) with re-gard to re-using things. Four out of every ten (43 per cent) have changed their meat consumption and one-third (33 per cent) have changed their holiday travel.

The difference between the genders is marginal in most areas. A lower propor-tion of women (35 per cent) than men (41 per cent) respond with “yes,

defi-Is it important among

your friends to be

climate-aware?

“Is it important or unimportant among

the people you mix with to be aware

of and think about your climate

im-pact?”

Seven out of every ten respondents say that it is important in the circles they mix in to be aware of and think about their climate impact. 12 per cent respond with “very important” and 57 per cent

“impor-tant”.

The replies of women and men to this question are roughly the same.

3 %

Unsure, don’t know 6 % Completely unimportant 22 % Unimportant 12 % Very important 57 % Important

Yes, definitely No, hardly

0 20 40 60 80 100 Your choice of holiday travel Your meat consump-tion Re-using things, buying second-hand items Your choice of daily transport Your energy consump-tion in the home Separating waste more 38 57 29 40 10 3 9 27 6 2 8 33 13 1 24 21 41 15 1 21 13 30 17 3 35 11 22 19 8 41

What prevents you from

living in a climate-aware

way?

“You will now be asked a few

ques-tions about what may prevent you

from living in a way that reduces your

climate impact.”

The greatest obstacle appears to be considering environmentally friendly and climate friendly alternatives usually to be more expensive. 74 per cent regard this as an obstacle. In second place, and perhaps linked to the first, it is stated that there are too few environmentally and climate friendly alternatives to choose from. 66 per cent respond in this way.

65 per cent respond that it is their own ingrained habits that prevent them living in a way that reduces their climate impact, while half (49 per cent) respond that they lack information on how best to reduce their climate impact.

45 per cent of men and 52 per cent of women respond that lack of information is an obstacle.

How often do you think

about climate in your

choice of product or

service?

“How often do you make the actual

choice of opting for a product a

pro-duct or service you believe to have

less negative impact on climate?”

68 per cent respond that they often (24 per cent) or sometimes (44 per cent) make the actual choice to opt for a product or service they believe to have less negative impact on climate. 23 per cent respond that they rarely do so and only 7 per cent respond that they never do so.

Among both men and women 24 per cent respond with “often”, while a larger proportion of women (46 per cent) respond with “sometimes” than men (41 per cent).

2 % Unsure, don’t know

23% Rarely 24% Often 44% Sometimes 7% Never

Yes, a great obstacle Yes, a small obstacle

Unsure, don’t know No, no obstacle at all

0 20 40 60 80 100 I lack information on how best to reduce my climate impact My ingrained habits There are too few environmentally friendly and climate friendly alternatives to choose from Environmentally friendly and climate friendly alternatives are often more expensive 28 46 2 24 21 45 5 30 18 47 3 31 12 37 2 50

NATURVÅRDSVERKET ISBN 978 -91-620-5905-7

ISSN 0282-7298

REPORT 5905

The general public and

climate change 2008

The general public’s knowledge of and

attitude to climate change, with the

fo-cus on people’s own actions, consumer

behaviour and the responsibilities of

companies

The readiness of Swedes to reduce their own green-house gas emissions has continued to increase, despite the issue of climate change not being considered quite as important as in 2007, when it dominated media reporting. At the same time, the general public want more information on how emissions can be reduced.

Swedes are prepared to support those companies that take the lead in dealing with climate change, but they regard companies as poor at marketing their climate efforts and express a wish for climate-friendly pro-ducts and services to be labelled.

Swedes consider it “very important” that we in Sweden take action to deal with climate change.

The general conclusion from the 2008 survey is that the level of commitment of the general public on the issue of climate change remains high and that people are now prepared to move on from words to action.