>@ Cristian Negroni /Getty Images
© Cristian Negroni / Getty Images

The first part of the 2021-2022 EIB Climate Survey explores people’s views on climate change in a rapidly changing world. The results from this release focus on citizens’ perceptions of climate change and the actions they expect their country to take to combat it. 

  • 76% of Slovenian people think that climate change and its consequences are the biggest challenge for humanity in the 21st century
  • 79% believe that they are more concerned about the climate emergency than their government
  • 83% feel that climate change has an impact on their everyday lives
  • 68% think Slovenia will fail in drastically reducing its carbon emissions by 2050, as pledged in the Paris Agreement
  • 71% are in favour of stricter government measures that impose changes on people’s behaviour
  • 79% would welcome a tax on products and services that contribute most to global warming
  • 94% say they want to replace short-distance flights by fast, low-polluting trains in collaboration with neighbouring countries

76% of Slovenians think that climate change and its consequences are the biggest challenge for humanity in the 21st century, with a limited gap among people with different political views: 83% of those with left-leaning political views say that climate change is the biggest challenge for humanity in the 21st century, compared to 69% of those with right-leaning political views.

The vast majority of Slovenian people (83%) feel that climate change has an impact on their everyday lives (3 points higher than last year and above the European average of 77%).

These are some of the results from the first release of the 2021-2022 Climate Survey published on October 27 by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union and the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate action projects.

Perception of the climate crisis: The country’s fight against climate change

79% of Slovenian people believe that they are more concerned about the climate emergency than their government. As a consequence, they are fairly sceptical regarding Slovenia’s capability to undergo an ambitious green transition. Only 32% think that Slovenia will succeed in drastically reducing its carbon emissions by 2050, as pledged in the Paris Agreement. The vast majority (68%) think that Slovenia will fail to meet its reduced carbon emission targets. 80% of people with left-leaning political views share this pessimism, which is 39 points higher than the figure for people with right-leaning political views (41%).

As a consequence, more than two-thirds (71%) of Slovenian people are in favour of stricter government measures — similar to the ones implemented to combat the COVID-19 crisis — that would impose changes on people’s behaviour (four points higher than last year, 67%).

Meanwhile, only 8% of Slovenian people still believe that global warming is not due to human activities.

The energy debate

When asked about the source of energy their country should rely on to fight global warming, the majority of Slovenian people favour renewable energies (70%) to address the climate emergency (7 points above the EU average of 63%). Support for renewables in Slovenia is seen strongly among people older than 64 (76% in favour). This figure drops 8 points for people under 30 (68%). Slovenian people with left-leaning political views support renewables more strongly than those with right-leaning political views (95% compared to 89%, a difference of 6 points). Slovenian women support renewables far more strongly than men (80% compared to 60%), a difference of 20 points. Support for renewable energies is consistent across income groups: 73% of lower-income earners would support further development of renewable energies, compared to 70% of higher-income earners.

Slovenians overall are slightly more supportive of nuclear energy than other Europeans (14% vs. 12%). The gender gap is significant: men (23%) are much more in favour of nuclear energy than women (5%).

Finally, Slovenians are less likely to think that their country should rely on energy savings than other Europeans (10% vs. 17%). Saving energy is ranked above an increased role for natural gas (4%).

Most popular solutions to fight climate change among Slovenians

The majority of Slovenians (79%) would support — to a greater extent than Europeans in general (69%) — the introduction of a tax on products and services that contribute most to global warming. Even among respondents with lower incomes, 79% would be in favour of such a tax in Slovenia. Slovenian respondents are also in favour of a 5-year minimum warranty on any electric or electronic product (94%) and replacing short-distance flights with fast, low-emission trains (94%). They also favour softer measures like strengthening education and increasing youth awareness of sustainable consumption (94%).

EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova said: “A strong majority of Slovenians want to see stricter measures and tools, such as cleaner energy sources, deployed to help them fight climate change and protect their country from the devastating effects of the climate change. As citizens of one of the greenest countries in the world, Slovenians seem to be aware of the danger, along with the necessary solutions and the action that needs to be taken. The EIB is ready to support and finance this action in Slovenia. In the course of COP26, the EIB will showcase its determination to increase its efforts and accelerate the ecological transition in the European Union and across the world. As the European climate bank, the role of the EIB is to finance projects focusing on clean energy, energy savings, sustainable mobility solutions and innovations, and contribute to limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 °C or less. I am very glad to see this strong support for our goals in Slovenia, a country that is a global leader and inspiring example of successful green and sustainable development, and we at the EIB are happy to have the vast majority of its citizens on our side.”  

Download the Excel spreadsheet with the raw data for all 30 countries surveyed here. Please click here to access the EIB website that presents key findings of the EIB Climate Survey IV.

About the EIB Climate Survey

The European Investment Bank has launched the fourth edition of the EIB Climate Survey, a thorough assessment of how people feel about climate change. Conducted in partnership with market research firm BVA, the fourth edition of the EIB Climate Survey aims to inform the broader debate on attitudes and expectations in terms of climate action. More than 30 000 respondents participated in the survey between 26 August and 22 September 2021, with a representative panel for each of the 30 countries polled.

About the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank is active in around 160 countries and is one of the world’s largest multilateral lenders for climate action projects. The EIB Group has recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to deliver more than 50% of EIB finance for climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the Roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have also been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since the start of 2021.

About BVA

BVA is an opinion research and consulting firm recognised as one of the most innovative market research firms in its sector. Specialised in behavioural marketing, BVA combines data science and social science to make data inspiring and bring it to life. BVA is also a member of the Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research (WIN), a global network of some of the world’s leading market research and survey players, with over 40 members.