Environmental issues dominate Europeans' thoughts, study shows

More people throughout Europe are increasingly concerned by environmental health issues, a new study has shown.

According to a survey conducted by Eurobarometer, the number of EU citizens who are keen to see measures taken to clamp down on climate change has grown from 17 to 20 per cent since 2009.

Environmental issues turned out to be the second biggest priority among survey respondents, behind poverty, hunger and drinking water quality.

The research also indicated three-quarters of Europeans are planning to buy environmentally-friendly products, even if they are more expensive.

"Consumers want more renewable energy and by no means are they tired of the climate change agenda," commented Peter Brun of Eurobarometer.

"If anything, they are tired of decision makers failing to take sufficient counteractive action," he added.

The World Wildlife Fund recently urged the UK government to place more emphasis on developing renewable energy sources in order to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Posted by Claire Manning