A new survey released by the European Commission shows that nearly half of Irish people think that both the Government and business need to do more to fight climate change. However when it comes to paying for these improvements two thirds of the public are not willing to foot the bill. The recently published Eurobarometer survey examines attitudes to climate change across all 27 EU Member States.

This special Eurobarometer on Climate Change comes ahead of next week's UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Speaking before the launch of the report Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission, said: "The message of the European citizens is clear: the fight against climate change must remain a top priority of EU action. It confirms our belief that tackling climate change and overcoming the economic recession do not exclude each other."

One fact that clearly emerges from the research is that Irish people are not changing their personal behaviour in key areas that reduce their carbon footprint. Only 3% of respondents answered that they have adapted their homes to green fuels (6% EU average) and only 15% of people have decided to use their car less (24% EU average). While 75% of the public want to see increased use of alternative fuels, only 36% are willing to pay for greener energy, far less than the EU average of 49%.

But it's not all bad news as three out of four respondents have taken some kind of personal action to fight climate change, far higher than the EU average of 63%. In fact, the Irish are amongst the most enthusiastic recyclers in Europe, with 87% of respondents confirming that they separate their waste (78% EU average).

Other key findings include:

Climate Change is a serious problem

• 82% of the Irish public (EU average 87%) believe climate change to be a fairly serious or very serious problem. 46% believe it to be the biggest problem facing the world today

Climate Change can be stopped

• 53% believe that climate change can be stopped (62% EU average), while 34% believe that nothing can be done about it (31% in EU)

Climate change and economic growth

• 64% believe that fighting climate change will have a positive impact on the economy (EU average 63%), but 32% believe that environmental protection is an obstacle to growth (EU average 26%)

To view the full report click on the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm