The climate challenge remains high on the minds of Danes.
Danskerne har et af verdens højeste klimaaftryk – vi udleder hver især i gennemsnit 17 tons CO2 årligt.
88 % of Danes today consider global climate change a serious problem, and 66 % say that politicians' efforts to tackle climate change will influence where they vote in the next general election.
This is shown in the 2022 edition of CONCITO's Climate Barometer, which has been measuring and analyzing the development of Danes' knowledge, attitudes, and actions in relation to the climate challenge since 2010.
"Despite many other serious challenges, Danes have not forgotten the climate crisis, and the concern is growing, especially among young people. This calls on political parties from right to left to step up on their climate action in Denmark and internationally and sends a clear signal that the various crises should be tackled together," says CONCITO's Director Christian Ibsen.
High climate concern and expectation of political action
To the question "How serious a problem do you think global climate change is?", 43 % answered "very serious" and 45 % "somewhat serious". To the question "To what extent will the politician's/party's efforts to tackle climate change influence where you vote in the next general election?", 30 % answer "to a great extent", 36 % "to some extent", and 19 % say “to a lesser extent".
Climate policy is considered an important election issue by 45 %, following health policy, which is regarded as the most important election topic.
"Climate has become an issue on which Danes want political action. We saw this in 2019 during the general elections, how high climate was on the political agenda, and this interest has continued, which is undoubtedly linked to climate change becoming increasingly evident," says Christian Ibsen.
Acceptance of renewable energy in the local area
The 2022 edition of the Climate Barometer also shows that Danes are in favor of energy solutions such as wind turbines and solar cells, even near their own homes. Less than 10 % say they are "not at all" willing to accept onshore wind turbines, large offshore wind farms, solar PV, or underground CO2 storage near their home. In relation to onshore wind specifically, just under 35 % say they are" to a great extent" or "to a very large extent" willing to accept onshore wind turbines near their home. Including the response category "to some extent", there is a significant majority of 68 % in favor of accepting onshore wind turbines near their residence.
"Danes generally seem to be more positive towards renewable energy installations than the public debate often gives the impression of. This is good news in a situation where Denmark has big plans for the expansion of renewable energy on land and at sea, as well as underground CO2 storage," says Christian Ibsen.
Half in favor of a national reduction target for consumption‐based emissions
The Climate Barometer asked Danes again this year whether they thought lifestyle changes were necessary or whether technology alone could tackle the climate challenge. Here, 63 % answer that it is necessary to change our lifestyles, against 11 % who point out that technology alone can tackle the climate crisis.
Danes have one of the highest climate footprints in the world - we each emit an average of 17 tonnes of CO2 a year. In relation to this, 50 % say they are in favor of a national reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions from Danish consumption, while 47 % are in favor of a similar target at a local level.
"Much of our consumption-based emissions can be reduced by changing consumption patterns, but that does not mean that responsibility is individual. It is a shared responsibility of politicians, businesses, and citizens to change our consumption patterns and lifestyles sufficiently. It is therefore encouraging to see strong support for a national reduction target for our consumption‐based emissions", says the lead author of the Climate Barometer report and behavioral analyst at CONCITO, Mikael Bellers Madsen.
The 2022 measurement was conducted by the analysis company Analyse Danmark in June-July 2022 among 1009 representative Danes. Through more than 100 questions, it measures Danes' attitudes to everything from CO2 taxes to energy installations on land and at sea, as well as what gives a quality of life in everyday life.
