94% of Italians say they want to stop using plastic bottles and 66% have already done so. Italy is in first place in Europe for sensitivity towards sustainability issues, together with Spain, Portugal and Malta. Equally high is the percentage (93%) of Italians who say they intend to buy more local food products, and 48% already do so. Not only. 77% of Italians say they plan to travel less by plane to help tackle the phenomenon of climate change, an intention that 30% already puts into practice.
These are the results of the II edition of the Bei Climate Survey, conducted in partnership with Bva, a consulting firm specializing in market research. Bei and Bva explain that “the survey is an indicator of how citizens perceive the phenomenon of climate change in the European Union, the United States of America and China. The second set of results sheds light on the actions that individual citizens plan to do to tackle climate change ».
The report highlights that “citizens of other parts of the world are also willing to act actively against climate change in 2020. On the issue of reducing plastic consumption, the consensus is clear: 81% of Americans, 93% of Europeans and 98% of Chinese say they intend to buy fewer plastic products. In any case, as regards housing, the attitudes are not uniform: over 94% of Chinese respondents intend to switch to a green energy supplier, while only 70% of Europeans and 64% of Americans have in mind to do it. A similar trend emerges in the propensity to invest in green funds: over 86% of the population in China is well prepared to do so in 2020, while that of the United States is 56% and the European one is 52% “.
Commenting on the report, Bei vice president Emma Navarro, head of Climate Action and the Environment, said: “I am thrilled to see how much European citizens are committed to our common fight against climate change. Positive individual actions for the climate create those economic and social trends in our societies that will help solve the problem of climate change. The European Investment Bank is definitely committed to providing the means that allow citizens to carry on this struggle which is the realization of a more sustainable future. It is heartening to see how people become champions of this cause and make it an integral part of their lives: in this fight we will only make it if we decide to fight together”.
The surprise – especially for the Italians themselves – comes from Italy: apparently, «compared to the rest of Europe, the Italians overall say they are willing to do more to adapt their lifestyle in the sign of prevention to climate changes”. The survey focuses on 6 categories of actions in particular.
