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Finns still consider climate change to be a major global threat, and would like the government to take a more active role in climate change mitigation. Over half of the respondents to the Climate Barometer 2015 survey would also like this theme to be included in the priorities of the new government programme. Companies are also being urged to develop new solutions for mitigating climate change. The Climate Barometer 2015 survey was carried out by TNS Gallup and commissioned by the state administration’s Steering Group for Climate Communications. Just under a third of the respondents said they would vote in the general election for a person who works actively to mitigate climate change.
According to the Climate Barometer 2015, the majority of Finns agree that Finland should reduce its emissions regardless of what other countries are doing. Citizens consider it important for Finland to be a pioneer in the adoption of emission reduction technologies and believe that developing new expertise and technical solutions can improve Finland’s competitiveness and create new jobs. The respondents would also like Finland to increase the use of renewable energy, such as solar power, wind power and biofuels, even at the cost of making energy more expensive.
The results are similar to those from a survey of Finnish companies, commissioned by Sitra and carried out by the pollsters Taloustutkimus. According to that survey, the vast majority of Finnish companies see carbon neutrality and low-carbon goals as a source of strategic competitive advantage and consider it a significant factor for their operating environment. As many as 83 per cent of the respondents regard climate change as being significant to their business, either now or in the future.
Over 80 per cent of the respondents to the Climate Barometer 2015 agreed that international negotiations should swiftly lead to a new global agreement on climate change for reducing global emissions. According to Finns, the most important decisions affecting climate change are made by the United States, as well as large developing countries, such as China and India. Also important is the action taken by major international businesses.
The survey shows that a clear majority of Finns are of the opinion that climate change is one of the largest global threats and that its effects can already be seen in different parts of the world. The effects of climate change outside Finland’s borders are considered to have the potential to cause serious security threats for Finland as well. However, Finns have not changed their own behaviour in order to mitigate climate change.
Read more from the press release. The graphs and data are available in Finnish only.
The survey of citizens’ views on climate change was conducted by TNS Gallup Oy as commissioned by the state administration’s Steering Group for Climate Communications. The steering group includes the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Demos Helsinki, Sitra (a fund operating under the Finnish Parliament) and Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation). A total of 1,005 people aged 15 to 74 from different parts of Finland, excluding the Åland Islands, participated in the survey. TNS Gallup collected the survey material during its Gallup forum respondent panel held between 5 and 14 March 2015. The survey’s margin of error is approximately 3 percentage points in either direction.
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