Most young people in Europe (76%) care about companies’ climate credentials before applying for a job with 22% of people aged 20-29 saying that the climate impact of prospective employers is a top priority when job hunting, according to the findings of the second part of the 2022-2023 European Investment Bank (EIB) Climate Survey,

Climate change remains the second biggest challenge facing Europeans, according to respondents of this second part focusing on people’s individual behaviour and the actions they are taking to combat climate change.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) say they are convinced that their own behaviour can make a difference in addressing the climate emergency and that the government has a role to play in encouraging individual behavioural change. Two-thirds of Europeans (66%) are in favour of stricter government measures imposing a change in people’s behaviour to tackle climate change (72% of respondents under 30 would welcome such measures).

A majority of European (56%)  – regardless of income – say they would be in favour of a carbon budget system that would allocate each individual a fixed number of yearly credits to be spent on items with a big carbon footprint (non-essential goods, flights, meat, etc.). In comparison, Chinese respondents strongly favour such a measure (83%), but Americans are less supportive, with less than half in favour (49%).

A total of 79% of Europeans are in favour of labelling all food products with their climate footprint (Americans 62% and Chinese 88%). In addition, 62% of Europeans would be willing to pay slightly more for food that is produced locally and more sustainably (Americans 60% and Chinese 83%). This willingness to pay more for food spans all income groups.

Since 2018, the EIB has conducted similar large-scale climate surveys across Europe, China and the United States.