1 in 3 Europeans would cut car use to fight climate change

A new pan-European study looking at public attitudes towards climate change has revealed the personal sacrifices that people are willing to make in the fight against global warming.

Climate Countdown, the latest in our series of Go Electric reports, finds that 34 per cent of Europeans would be willing to use their car less.

The research also found an increasing recognition amongst the public that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future (37%), but it suggests there are still legitimate barriers to adoption.

Charging concerns and range anxiety are still among the most significant perceived problems for consumers, with 39% saying they have concerns about where they could charge their vehicle, 24% saying they don’t think the infrastructure is there, and 30% saying EVs would put them off long journeys.

“This survey shows how much Europeans care about climate change and that they’re ready to take a number of individual actions to help fight it. When it comes to personal transportation, it is clear they see EVs as the future, yet what the survey also shows is that people continue to have concerns around charging infrastructure and perceived range anxiety."

Stuart Rowley,

President, Ford of Europe.

Released ahead of COP26, the crucial climate summit hosted in Glasgow, our research suggests a surprising level of willingness from the European public to forgo many of the trappings of modern life.

Overall, an overwhelming majority of Europeans (an average of 90 per cent in each of the eight countries surveyed) feel they have some level of personal responsibility in the fight against climate change.

Asked about the main issues facing Europe today – which included important topics such as systemic racism, mental health provision, and rebalancing the economy – having a global plan to tackle climate change was viewed second only to COVID-19 recovery as the key priority. And while there was agreement that having a climate change plan was essential (29%), the same amount (29%) said that putting in stricter measures to curb climate change was needed immediately.

Among the key things that Europeans would be willing to sacrifice, not using plastics (45%), reducing energy consumption (45%) and purchasing locally produced goods (35%) came out on top. However, there is also a substantial proportion who said they’d be willing to limit the purchase of new clothes (34%), while 25% said they would be willing to give up travelling abroad on aeroplanes and 15 per cent would forgo meat. Only a very small minority of 4% said they would not be willing to make any sacrifices.

There was also clear indication that consumers expect businesses to be environmentally friendly: 87% said it was important that they buy products from businesses that have a positive or carbon-neutral contribution to the environment, with 56% saying it is either a very important (40%) or the most important (16%) consideration.

“I believe it is incumbent upon all stakeholders – government, both national and local, energy providers and auto companies – to make an emphatic case about the opportunities of electrification to consumers and to create the infrastructure necessary to support the vision, as it is only with a unified approach that we can deliver on this promise. Ford is all-in on electrification, and we are proud to be a leader in helping consumers make the switch to electrified vehicles.”

Stuart Rowley,
President, Ford of Europe.

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