Brussels, 15/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - Almost twice as many European leaders (90%) as American (50%) believe there is a need to act immediately on global warming if spiralling costs are to be avoided in the future. This was one of the findings of a joint poll by Gallup and Friends of Europe published on 14 June.
Beyond this major difference, however, the poll identified areas of transatlantic agreement in the approach to be taken to this global phenomenon.
- Most European and American leaders (90% and 77% respectively) agree that emissions from the energy and transport sectors must be reduced by 60%-80% by 2050.
- Similarly, EU and US leaders are equally pessimistic about changing consumer behaviour to promote energy saving. Two thirds of those questioned (an average of 67% in both the EU and the US) believe that an over-emphasis by policy-makers on biofuels could lead to consumer complacency and make them less likely to change their behaviour.
- Half of EU and US leaders agree that biofuels are unlikely to make a decisive contribution to achieving post-2012 emissions targets. Some 43% thought that, if a successor to the Kyoto Protocol can be reached, biofuels will not contribute to achieving any new emissions targets.
- 73% of leaders on either side of the Atlantic thought that, without government support, the biofuel industry could not remain viable in the event of a surge in oil and grain prices.
The findings of this survey, which was conducted on a sample of 130 leaders in the United States and the EU, provide a snapshot of current opinion on climate change policies on both sides of the Atlantic. The survey informed a televised transatlantic dialogue on climate change between Washington DC and Brussels, which took place on 14 June as part of the European Commission's Green Week, from 11-15 June. (an)