Climate policy measures taken around the world do not yet reflect the ambition of researchers’ goals evaluated recently that current measures allow temperatures to rise by 2.7 ° C.
Most Finns seem at least somewhat skeptical about the acceleration of climate action. One-fifth of respondents said they were completely insecure and half said they were not very sure about achieving the goals. In contrast, only three percent said they were very confident that the fight against climate change would be successful globally.
Helsingin Sanomat emphasized that pessimism was the prevailing mood in all groups of respondents.
Students and young people were the most optimistic about the fight against climate change – perhaps a little surprisingly, because the climate anxiety has led many to take part in protests and school laws. About 33 per cent of those under 30 and 30 per cent of pupils and students said they were at least somewhat confident that global warming could be curbed within the limits set by the Paris Agreement.
At the same time, young people were clearly pessimistic, with almost a quarter of those under 30 saying they lack confidence in achieving goals.
However, 40-49 year olds were the most pessimistic age groups, with less than 20 percent predicting success in curbing global warming.
The responses also clearly correlated with the respondents’ financial situation. Although as many as 80% of those in difficulty did not have confidence in efforts to combat the crisis, the corresponding proportion among the economically better off was around 66.
Proponents of the Left Alliance also stood out as pessimistic: 95 percent of them said they were not at all or not very sure about the aspirations. The corresponding proportion was 80 Green League supporters. In contrast, supporters of the Social Democrats were the most optimistic, with more than a third saying they were at least moderately confident in the effort.
Respondents were also asked to assess the ability and willingness of different organizations to take action in response to the crisis.
The results show that Finns have special trust in multinational organizations, such as the European Union and the United Nations. Relatively many also expressed at least some confidence in citizens and consumers (38%) and businesses (36%).
Confidence in the ability and willingness of decision-makers and investors to take action was significantly lower, at 22 and 23 per cent.
Kantar TNS interviewed 1,025 people from 1 to 6 October.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT