As part of the Energy aNew project, apart from educational activities, we also check how the attitudes towards climate change evolve in Poland (1). The newest studies reveal very promising answers. According to them, Poles want the energy sources changed to renewable and they support the activities of the European Union aimed at limiting the emission of carbon dioxide. Social researchers conducted survey studies within the scope of the project dealing with support for various forms of energy and for the need for pro-climate actions taken up by the European Union. They were asking about the attitude towards these issues in June 2016 and in February 2018.
Let us take a closer look at how the answers changed in 3 areas:

EU Climate Policy

• In a year and a half, the attitude towards climate-oriented actions taken up by the European Union changed positively in the studied group. In 2016, 78% Poles declared support for the EU in striving to limit the emission of carbon dioxide, and in 2018, this support increased by 7 percentage points, reaching 85% percentage points. In our opinion this is a huge success.

The Role of Poland

• Also, the belief that the Polish contribution to climate change is so small that the actions taken up by our country are not going to change anything decreased. Whereas in 2016, this view was shared by 43.6% respondents, in 2018 only 37.3% Poles gave this answer.
• We are more and more convinced that Poland has an important role to play in the fight against climate changes, in shaping responsible policies and protecting our ecosystem. Poles also remain convinced about the viability of climate change and consider it a potential threat to themselves and to Poland and the world. One can say that the declared support levels are so high that it is hard to make them more positive.

Preferred Energy Sources

• Our studies revealed that the majority of Poles (90-95%) think that the development of renewable energy and the increase in energy effectiveness should be supported for the most part in the coming years. This is not surprising. According to the studies performed by the Public Opinion Research Centre in 2016, the view that energy policy should be focused on developing renewable energy sources was declared by 50% subjects (non-renewable or mixed sources were in minority) (2). Both studies show that this is the preferred energy source.
• Such a high proportion of the population supporting investments in renewable, clean energy sources proves good social awareness of the harmfulness of using fossil fuels and it gives hope that if only there are legal ways and proper economic incentives, inhabitants will start investing in installation en masse. It can also be assumed that the politicians and projects enabling the development of such sources will enjoy a high level of social support. See the changes in responses:

The full report is available in the section DOWNLOAD.

(1) Studies conducted from June 2016 to February 2018 involving a representative sample of Poles

(2) Public Opinion Research Centre, Poles on the Energy Future of the Country, February 2016