Earth Day: a quarter of French people think it is already “too late” to act against the climate crisis

Comme chaque année à l'occasion de la journée mondiale de la Terre, l'institut de sondage Ipsos dévoile son enquête annuelle “Earth Day”, qui interroge les citoyens de plus de 30 pays sur leur vision de la lutte contre le changement climatique. jonya/Getty Images

Like every year on the occasion of World Earth Day, the Ipsos polling institute unveils its annual “Earth Day” survey, which questions citizens from more than thirty countries on their vision of the fight against climate change.

The survey reveals that in France, 57% of the population believes that their country “must do more in the fight against climate change".

26% of French people think it is already too late

"Between negativism and pragmatism, climate change leaves little room for optimism among the French“, underlines the survey, carried out in 33 countries around the world. When it comes to fighting the climate crisis, the inhabitants of France are categorical.

More than the majority of them believe that it is as much the responsibility of the government as that of businesses: 64% think in fact that if the government does not act now, this would amount to failing in their duty towards the population. The same goes for companies: 65% believe that they would fail in their duty not only to consumers, but also to their employees.

But they do not forget their role as citizens: more than two thirds (67%) think that the impact would be significant "if everyone initiated changes in their daily uses and practices". The others, however, are less optimistic: 21% believe that there "no point in changing" to change their habits. Worse: 26% believe that climate change is "outside their control" and "that’it's already too late".

The involvement and the financial plan are problematic

Concerning concrete measures, however, the French are not all ready to get involved, especially when it comes to investing financially: 45 % do not come out in favor of an increase in their taxes and 37% do not think that "now is the ideal time to invest in environmental measures, given the economic situation of the country".

"The population increasingly recognizes the need for a fight for the environment bringing together all stakeholders", concludes the survey. And it is indeed an opinion that seems widely shared internationally. Like the French, 60% of all respondents from the 33 countries included in the study agree to say that if the government does not ;does not act now to fight climate change, "he will fail in his obligations towards the population of his country". The Indonesians are those who react the most to this statement (80%), while the Romanians seem to be the least convinced (33%).

Same story when it comes to citizen involvement: 63% of respondents from 33 countries believe that if citizens do not If they do not act now to combat climate change, they will fail in their duty to future generations. Here again, the Indonesians stand out with the highest percentage (80%), unlike the Japanese, of whom only 25% share this point of view (i.e. the lowest score).< /p> Survey Ipsos carried out in 33 countries on a total of 24,290 adults under 75 years old, surveyed via the Global Advisor online platform from January 26 to February 9, 2024.