Six percent of Swedes believe that climate change is a hoax, shows a fresh survey. Swedes have greater knowledge than the populations of most other EU countries.
Deforestation, industries, agriculture, and transportation – more than three-quarters of Swedes are clear that the main causes of climate change are caused by humans.
Swedes also rank well within the EU, in third place, when it comes to understanding climate change. This is shown by a new survey from the European Investment Bank. The third place means that Sweden is far above the EU average. Finland is in top and Luxembourg comes in as a good second.
Younger people have larger knowledge gaps than older people, according to the survey. For example, the age group 20-29 years stands out as less informed than those who are older.
Correct definition
When it comes to defining climate change, the majority of Swedes surveyed, 82 percent, chose the correct definition "A long-term change in global climate patterns", while 6 percent believe that climate change is a hoax.
A large proportion, 88 percent, of Swedes also correctly stated that climate change exacerbates hunger in the world because extreme weather affects harvests. However, only a minority – 36 percent – knew that better-insulated buildings can also contribute to limiting climate change. Furthermore, most are unaware of the significant impact that the digital transition has on the climate, only six percent state that watching fewer videos on the internet can help combat climate change.
Reduced speed
Like in most EU countries, a large proportion (72 percent) of the surveyed Swedes did not know that reduced speed limits on roads can contribute to combating climate change.
When Swedes were asked which countries emit the most greenhouse gases in the world, most – 77 percent – chose the USA, China, and India, which is the correct answer.
To assess the public's understanding of climate change in Sweden, the sixth edition of the European Investment Bank's (EIB) climate survey focuses on individuals' knowledge of climate change within three main areas: the definition and causes of climate change, consequences, and solutions.
The participants answered twelve questions and the answers were ranked on a scale from 0 to 10, where 10 indicates the highest level of knowledge. Over 30,000 respondents in 35 countries, including EU countries, the UK, the USA, China, Japan, India, and Canada, are included in the EIB's climate survey.
Source: European Investment Bank
