- 63% believe that the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequences should accelerate the green transition.
- Despite the energy and inflation crisis, more than half of Belgians (54%) consider climate change and environmental degradation to be two of the three biggest challenges the country is facing.
- 83% say that, if we do not drastically reduce our consumption of energy and goods in the coming years, we will be heading for a global catastrophe.
- 61% give priority to heavily taxing highly polluting goods and services such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and air transport.
- 56% are in favour of indexing energy prices to the level of consumption per household.
These are some of the results from the latest yearly Climate Survey conducted in August 2022 and published today by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.
After a challenging year in which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked an ongoing energy crisis and accelerated inflation all over Europe, and a summer marked by record heatwaves and droughts, Belgians have become even more acutely aware of the impact of climate change and the need for urgent action.
Climate change awareness and urgency
While COVID-19 was considered the number one challenge for Belgians last year, economic and financial issues now predominate, with 80% citing these as their top concerns.
Concerns over climate change and environmental degradation come second (54% now consider them to be the biggest challenges for Belgium). In addition, 73% of Belgians now say they feel the effects of climate change on their daily lives.
83% think that, if we do not drastically reduce our consumption of energy and goods in the coming years, we will be heading for a global catastrophe. At the same time, 86% feel that the government is reacting too slowly, and only 33% think that Belgium will succeed in substantially reducing its carbon emissions by 2030.
War in Ukraine and green transition
Nearly two-thirds of Belgians (63%) believe that the war in Ukraine and its consequences on the prices of oil and gas should accelerate the green transition (compared with the European average of 66%).