Europeans appear to be more climate-savvy but lag behind other countries when it comes to carbon taxes and political support for climate solutions, according to a major survey by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the network reported on July 23 in the Green Queen edition.
Last month, Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce a carbon tax on agriculture. Now Danish farmers raising cattle and pigs will have to pay around $43 (3.75 thousand rubles) per tonne of emissions from 2030. This has not met with as much backlash from farmers as one might think, indicating that Danes recognise the environmental risks of livestock farming and the importance of reducing emissions, climate scientists say.
The EIB study involved more than 30,000 respondents from 35 countries, including the EU, the US, India, China and Japan. The survey found that most Europeans are in favour of carbon taxes: 68% are in favour of progressive carbon taxes (where richer people pay more tax on carbon-intensive purchases), 75% support a carbon wealth tax (which involves higher taxes on organisations that make money from activities that harm the planet), and another 74% support fossil fuel tax reform (where subsidies are redirected towards clean energy).
However, 41% of EU citizens are not willing to pay taxes on their personal income to finance climate policies that would benefit people who earn less than them. These figures are much lower than in other parts of the world.
For example, people in China, the United States and India (three of the world’s biggest polluters) show much more support for each of these tax policies than Europeans. These countries are also significantly more willing to pay income taxes on climate policy. This support is especially high in China and India.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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