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People across the globe see national governments as primarily responsible for tackling climate change (54%), followed by the UN (40%), according to the results of a new Vodafone Institute survey conducted by Kantar, which included 17,000 people from 17 countries, including Romania. And digitalisation is considered by most to be a solution for achieving climate goals, as mentioned by almost 65% of those interviewed, a similar rate registered among Romanian citizens.
Businesses and individuals are considered equally responsible to combat climate change, along with national governments, at 39%, followed by supranational bodies like the European or African Union (33%) and NGOs (30%) (multiple choice question).
More than half of those surveyed agree that their government has the will (58%), the skills (58%) and the capacity (59%) to tackle climate change. In most countries the approval rates in all three areas are aligned, as well as in Romania, where over 40% agree with this. A discrepancy between will and capacity to tackle climate change can be found in Brazil and the US: Brazilian citizens say their government has more capacity (60%), but less will (45%) so does the US with 65% capacity, but only 54% will. A divide occurs across European countries: for example only 49% of the French say their government has the will even though more believe in their capacity (59%), while Swedes see a higher will (61%), but less capacity (50%) of their government.
On average, 80% think strong governmental regulations and measures are inevitable in mitigating climate change, a similar percentage among Romanians. High approval rates can be found in China (93%), India (93%) and Kenya (91%). While the US only comes to 62%, and the lowest European rate can be found in Slovenia (70%), followed by Germany and Spain (both 71%). Across all countries surveyed, the top three areas respondents felt governmental measures should focus on are stricter industry regulations (34%), actions for green agriculture (32%) and protect biodiversity (32%).
Almost 85% of all respondents say government should be investing more in tackling climate change, with Kenya (96%) and Brazil (94%) at the top and USA (67%) and Sweden (61%) at the bottom of the list. In general, among all countries a shared cost responsibility of state, economy and citizens is favoured by 45%. In Romania, 38% of citizens believe that these costs should be shared between the three entities, while 34% think that they should be covered by the state.
Asked about the individual will to pay more for sustainable alternatives countries, 86% of Kenyans and 88% of Indians agree, while only 61% of Germans and 57% of US-Americans agree to that extent. Romania is positioned in the middle, with over 75% of Romanians who would agree to pay for sustainable alternatives
When it comes to the role of digitalisation, 64% are confident that it is a key lever in mitigating climate change. In India every third respondent and in Egypt and Kenya every fourth respondent go as far as to say digitalisation to be the biggest lever. In European countries there is high confidence across most countries that digitalisation is one lever to combat climate change. Highest rates in Italy (70%), Romania (64%) and Spain (62%).
Please find the full report here.
Methodology
The online survey was conducted by Kantar among 17,000 citizens from 17 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA. A 1,000 interviews were conducted in each country (17,000 interviews in total) and all participants in the survey were at least 16 years old. The interviews were conducted between 21 September and 4 October 2021.
About Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications
The Institute is Vodafone’s think-tank. We explore the potential and responsible use of digital technologies for innovation, growth and sustainable social impact. Through research and events, we provide thought leadership and offer a platform for dialogue between business, academia and politics.
About Vodafone
Vodafone is a leading telecommunications company in Europe and Africa. Our purpose is to “connect for a better future” enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society. Our expertise and scale gives us a unique opportunity to drive positive change for society. Our networks keep family, friends, businesses and governments connected and – as COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated – we play a vital role in keeping economies running and the functioning of critical sectors like education and healthcare.
Vodafone is the largest mobile and fixed network operator in Europe and a leading global IoT connectivity provider. Our M-Pesa technology platform in Africa enables 50m people to benefit from access to mobile payments and financial services. We operate mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries and partner with mobile networks in 52 more. As of 30 September 2021, we had over 300m mobile customers, more than 28m fixed broadband customers, over 22m TV customers and we connected 136m IoT devices.
We support diversity and inclusion through our maternity and parental leave policies, empowering women through connectivity and improving access to education and digital skills for women, girls, and society at large. We are respectful of all individuals, irrespective of race, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, belief, culture or religion.
Vodafone is also taking significant steps to reduce our impact on our planet by becoming net zero by 2040, purchasing 100% of our electricity from renewable sources in Europe and across our entire operations by 2025, and reusing, reselling or recycling 100% of our redundant network equipment.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.