50% of Spaniards are more concerned about climate change than they were a year ago

Neture Impact's "The Sustainable Consumer of 2034 in Spain" reveals the public's perceptions and priorities regarding this phenomenon.

Every year, as temperatures rise during the summer season, the debate about climate change and its repercussions on the environment and on society's day-to-day life resurfaces. In this regard, the Spanish population is fully aware of the impact it will have in the long term. In fact, 50% of Spaniards feel more concerned about this phenomenon than a year ago, as shown in the report "The sustainable consumer of 2034 in Spain" by Neture Impact, VML's positive impact consultancy, which aims to understand the vision, perception and priorities of citizens regarding climate change as the undisputed protagonist of the ecological transition.

Likewise, this phenomenon ranks third in the ranking of citizen concerns, only behind the health situation and the economic crisis. In this sense, the so-called Z generation, people born between the mid-1990s and the early years of the 21st century, is the most concerned about this situation. It is followed by Generation X (1965-1980) and the so-called baby boomers (1946-1964).

In contrast, the generation with the least uneasiness is the millennials (1981-1996), but they are the people who have the highest perception that their lives will get worse due to the climate crisis (63%).

On the other hand, citizens identify several climate threats, including water availability (58%), exposure to extreme weather events (39%), people's health (35%) and access to food (32%).

The citizen facing the solution

When citizens are forced to choose between economic growth and sustainability, the population is fragmented into groups of similar weight:

• 33% say they prefer a scenario of economic degrowth, but one that guarantees major advances towards sustainability.

   

• 34% are growth-oriented, prioritizing economic growth over progress in sustainability.

   

• 33% declared themselves neutral.

People who choose sustainability over economic growth identify climate change as the issue that will most shape their lives.

The citizen before the solver

Despite the efforts that may come from society, Spaniards perceive public administrations (57%) and scientists and technologists (54%) as the main drivers of the reversal of the climate crisis. In fact, 59% believe that governments are not taking the right steps in the fight against the climate emergency, while 57% say that companies are mainly responsible for global warming.

Focusing on population profiles, the crecentistas trust more in the citizens themselves to face the energy transition, while the decrecentistas trust more in governments, scientists and companies.

The citizen before himself

The Spanish population is committed to mitigating global warming, as they believe that a change in lifestyle will mitigate the effects of climate change (41%).

Among the actions proposed are minimizing single-use products and opting for reusable alternatives, opting for local food produced in a sustainable manner and supporting brands and companies that adopt environmentally responsible practices.

With respect to mobility, increasing the use of public transport seems to be the behavioral pattern that generates the most willingness to reduce the carbon footprint - being very likely and likely to do so (99%) - followed by traveling less and making greater use of other multi-mobility options such as bicycles and car sharing.

For their part, at home, they prefer to reduce their energy consumption - being very likely and likely to do so (96%) - as well as to improve the thermal insulation of the home, over installing solar panels at home.

After analyzing the results, one of the main conclusions of the study "The sustainable consumers of 2034 in Spain" is that the population is fully aware of the impact that climate change will have on their lives in the long term, giving it greater importance than more mediatized aspects such as the advance of AI. Moreover, it shows more confidence in a lifestyle transformation than in technological advances to reverse this phenomenon.