Karin Bornett
How do Austrians feel about renewable energy and climate protection? What do you think of the domestic climate policy? As part of the “Renewable Energies in Austria” series of studies, representative surveys of the Austrian population on these topics have been taking place every year since 2015 in the October / November survey period. Due to the changed situation due to COVID-19, a representative survey of the mood among more than 1.000 people took place in June with the financial support of the Association for the Promotion of Economics and the Research Council of the University of Klagenfurt.
“The result, which is representative for the Austrian population, is particularly surprising in one point: Even in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the end of the Second World War, Austrians have a very positive attitude towards renewable energies. And: The global climate crisis is now more worrisome than ever, ”said a broadcast from Deloitte Austria's study participants.
Approval for EU-wide kerosene tax rises
The broadcast continues: “The majority of respondents assume that climate change will have negative effects on everyone's life and that these are already noticeable. Around 60% therefore support anchoring climate protection as a national goal in the federal constitution. A majority of 57% also support greening the tax system. But around a quarter have doubts that politicians will actually take concrete measures against climate change. (…) While 50% supported the introduction of EU-wide kerosene taxation in the previous year, 58% of those surveyed now agree. "
83 percent are skeptical of the current (supposedly) positive climate effect that was brought about by the COVID-19 restrictions. According to the study, without effective investments in climate protection, the next crisis is inevitable for more than half of the respondents. Gerhard Marterbauer, partner at Deloitte Austria: "The climate crisis has by no means lost its importance as a result of the pandemic - it underlines the need for rapid action much more."
Here are the exact survey results (German)
Photo by Matthew Smith on Unsplash
ON THE CONTRIBUTION TO OPTION AUSTRIA
